Cruel Vegetable Summer

Been a very weird summer for my garden.

Evidently we are experiencing blossom drop.   Our weird wet Spring which launched immediately into high heat and humidity means we have lush tomato bushes, but hardly any fruit.  And they fruit that DID show up is still inexplicably green.

Rabbits ate all my spinach, lettuce, and beet tops in June.  After we fixed the fence they just never recovered. I replanted in July but they were a bust.

The peas that were supposed to be climbing the corn never showed.  The squash plants grew lovely foliage but no fruit.

The beans are climbing but I have yet to see any pods.

The corn stalks commit suicide each week, and one of them just breaks off.

The onions however seem to be just fine.  So it'll be a Fall of French Onion Soup.  Good thing we don't really depend on the garden for survival.

Still hoping to get some raspberry and peach jam made.  Summer's not over yet, right?  RIGHT?!

Jam Session

So I finally got started on Canning Season 2011!  After a trip to Costco I had a giant-sized flat of big juicy ripe strawberries.  And as you canners and jammers know, with produce you have to get right to work.

So on probably the freaking hottest possible day of the year, Cupcake and I put up a batch of strawberry jam.  We use the low-sugar recipe.  Not really for health reasons, although less white sugar should be my goal if you know what I mean.  But mostly because wonderful ripe summer fruit doesn't really need all that sugar. 

So in my vintage apron we got to work.  Cupcake mentioned that I looked just like some 1940's Mom jarring up the garden bounty.  I mused that the big difference was I was cooking on electricity inside my air-conditioned home, not sweating over a cook stove in a 110+ degree kitchen.  However, remember my musings on summer kitchens?  I really want one now.  It would be my escape.  My house has what my sisters and I call a "one-butt-kitchen".  Our unit of measure is our own hereditary ample rear ends.  I actually have more like a "1/2 butt kitchen".  So a project like canning takes good planning, iced tea, and cold air pouring out of the floor vents.

Now that I've proven my prowess with canning, I think I'm ready to buy a big 'ol pot that will hold lots of jars, not just 4-5 jam sizers.  

Watch for later developments as I make raspberry jam, peach butter, salsa jam, and tomato sauce!

Also - the neighbors told me I can help myself to their apple tree in the Fall so Apple Butter coming our way!

Unauthorized cooking with my unauthorized co-blogger!

Today we'll be cooking with my pal Mama in Wonderland and using her posted recipe for Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce. Her instructions are in black, my comments are in red. Why didn't I have this recipe earlier I ask you? This is WAAAAAY easier than the old boiling water/ice water peeling method.

First, we'll start with today's garden bounty: piles of tomatoes both plum and regular, four weird cukes, lots of little onions, two yellow peppers, and one red pepper. I will never grow these onions again. Too small, and too time consuming to peel.

Easy & Delicious Roasted Tomato Sauce
makes approximately 4 cups, depending on size/amount of tomatoes

3-4 lbs. fresh tomatoes, stems removed (I had so many tomatoes, I just kept slicing and seeding until I had filled a jelly roll pan)
1 medium onion, sliced (again, I followed the "fill the jelly roll pan" method)
2-3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed (I used 7-8)
1/4 cup olive oil (Enough to drizzle over the whole pan full)
1 tsp. salt (I was more liberal)
1 tsp. sugar (I used more like 2t.)
ground black pepper (to taste, optional) (Oh Yeah!)

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Slice tomatoes lengthwise and place cut-side down on a large rimmed baking sheet. (I lined the pan with parchment because I hate scraping off burned bits) (You may also double the recipe, use 2 baking sheets, and switch the pans around halfway through cooking time for even roasting.) If using cherry tomatoes, no need to slice; just spread in single layer on pan, as many as will fit. (Using my fingers, I seeded them after slicing. I'm weird and don't like seeds in there)

Scatter onion slices and minced garlic over the top of the tomatoes, then drizzle with oil. Sprinkle with salt, sugar, and pepper.

Place in oven and roast approximately 1-1/2 hours (Mine took longer - my oven is slow) for large tomatoes and perhaps 45 minutes for cherry tomatoes, or until tomatoes have collapsed and are browned in some places. (You may need to check occasionally to get the timing right; it varies, but do not let it worry you too much. Just don't let it all burn into a black mass.) Do not be concerned if partway through this cooking time you see the pan fill up with juices; this will cook down.


When roasted, carefully spoon/pour contents of pan(s) into blender (or food processor, if you have one, but I don't, so bear with me), including all juices. (I also added a handful of my basil, and some more garlic salt. Hmmmmmm this is so stinkin good you'll want some soon!)


Puree until smooth. Taste and add more salt and/or sugar if needed. Either use immediately for pasta or pizza, or let cool completely and then spoon into 1-cup containers to freeze. When frozen solid, you may turn out the blocks of sauce and place together in a labeled Ziploc freezer bag, which saves space in the freezer and frees up your containers again. (We're a hungry family of five, and that will perfectly dress a pound of pasta for Tuesday night's supper!)

Thanks Mama,
you are one awesome cook!

My garden pictorial

Johnny C just brought home a pink bathtub from a remodel job, so of course the logical place to put it is IN OUR YARD!!! We are such trailer trash.

My basil crop: sweet, Thai, and lettuce leaf basil.

Canna lilies in a pot

PUMPKINS!

My gardening shed - built by Johnny C - which used to be the coolest play house ever! Now it's the perfect place to keep my tools. I'm going to miss this little house.

Today's harvest: some gladiolus, zinnias, 2 cucs, 8-9 plum tomatoes, sweet basil, purple basil, and Thai basil.

The raised beds Johnny C built and I planted - all made with scrap lumber!

My garden under the influence of the sprinkler. The bed that looks empty just finished all the carrots. Onions are still cooking, and the 2nd and 3rd harvest of beets are popping up.

Johnny C's homemade cuc trellis - made with scrap, old nails, and twine.

My garden, to date

My friend Dr. Monkey is enjoying the fruits (and vegetables!) of his labor in the garden. He lives in the South where author Bailey White says vegetation "doesn't know it's place". I'm having some pretty good success too here in the frozen tundra of Minnesota. These images are NOT mine - they are shamelessly stolen from the interwebs. I have lost the USB cable to my camera so my own photos will have to wait.

Daily I marvel at the miracle of seeds, stuck into the dirt, that grow into actual edible plants.

We harvested all our beets - my sister made a lovely beet/red potato salad from them and I pickled the rest. YUM! What this beginner gardener didn't know was to plant several rows about 2 weeks apart. But I have more in the ground now.

The spinach and lettuce just grew themselves. Seriously, if I owned a pig to slaughter, we'd be eating BLT's forever. More spinach will go into the ground at the end of July. Johnny C is making cold frames so we can harvest into the late Fall.

Carrots are up as are onions. I've harvested a few onions, little as they are, and used them in a salad. Italian tomatoes are there, but too green - I suspect this is from this summer's lack of hot sunshine. Cucs are growing nicely on Johnny C's homemade trellis. Peppers, both sweet and hot, are coming along. Three varieties of basil are already in use. We have two baby-size green pumpkins and many siblings on the way. Red raspberries get eaten as we pick them - they rarely make it all the way to the house.

From now on, I can't imagine not having a vegetable garden. Now I'd like to add chickens and some fruit trees. I'm riding the Urban Homesteader wave!

Randomness

1. Our weather yesterday was drop-dead gorgeous. I mean GORGEOUS! Dry air, sunny, temps in the low 70's. The kind of weather that shows up on Minnesota postcards. We opened every single window.

2. Hubby made the most amazing cucumber trellis from scrap wood, nails, and twine. I mean this thing is a beauty. He and I could go into business building vegetable gardens. Both cameras were out of the house yesterday. I'll get some pictures soon.

3. Due to the heat last week, my spinach has bolted. It was going to happen sooner or later. So I picked it all and made pesto from it. I stirred some with leftover bow-tie pasta, and the rest filled a jelly jar with green gold. Recipe below.
4. My raspberries are coming along beautifully. Six years ago my dear friend Diane literally stuck a twig in the ground behind my shed and now the whole corner is full of raspberry bush.

5. I'm sick of hearing about Michael Jackson. He was great in the 80's but a sad pedophile at the end. He's dead and that's all I need to know. Can we put any further news on the back pages please?

6. My husband is one lovely man, let me tell you!!!

7. We're having our annual potluck on the 4th of July at our house. If you're around it's at 6pm. Bring your own table service, meat to grill, a side dish, and a lawn chair. My backyard has the perfect view of the town fireworks.

SPINACH PESTO
About 5-6 cups of spinach
3 cloves of garlic ( or to taste)
1/3 cup Nuts - pine nuts or walnuts, again to taste or you can omit them
1/2 - 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Extra virgin olive oil

In a food processor, put the garlic cloves & nuts and give them a whirl. Stuff in the spinach and cheese. Process a few times. Now with the blade running, pour in the oil in a thin stream until the pesto has the consistency of very wet mud.

This is great of course on pasta, but we also like it on pizza, bruschetta, veggies, etc. It's as versatile as marinara sauce. And it freezes just fine.