Yesterdays Roots

In they came with an armful of pumpkins and Autumn mums in hand. Our children surprised us with a visit yesterday. Typically,  they only get up here to New England from their home state of Florida during mid-winter, so this made the visit even nicer for us. I had just come in from the garden with a basket of root crops with plans of making a savory harvest galette-- turnips, beets, butternut squash, acorn squash, and carrots.. an because I've become so impatient waiting 110 days for my sweet potatoes--I pulled a few of  those too! The deer had already beat me to my patch and clearly had nibbled on many of the sweet potato vines.. Some, were smaller than others--but extremely tasty. I will definitely plant more of these next year.

An odd meal for me to be thinking of preparing on an eighty degree day out there. It felt more like the forth of July---but it turned out just yummy! Til next thyme.. happy gardening.

Lubee Alaham - Green Beans with Lamb

Green Beans with Lamb--Lubee Alaham

1 lb.seasoned ground lamb
2 TBLS olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
1 1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/4 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. crushed dried basil
1 tsp. crushed dried oregano
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 lb. fresh green beans or Italian pole beans--washed and trimmed
2 cups fresh tomatoes, diced
1 cup roma tomatoes, or half a can tomato paste

In a skillet, brown meat for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Drain any excess fat. Place meat in a bowl & set aside. Using the same skillet, saute the onions and garlic in olive oil until soft and slightly brown.. Return the meat to the skillet with the onions. Add salt, ground pepper, allspice, basil, and oregano.. Cover & cook 10 more minutes.

In a large pot, add the green beans. Stir in the tomatoes, and the tomato paste over the green beans and stir. Add the meat mixture to the green beans and bring to a gentle boil, then cover and simmer for 1 hour, or more until beans are fork tender. Serve over rice pilaf, steamed bulgur or creamy polenta. Enjoy!

Winding down in the garden

   Jack Frost might soon be just around the corner, but I say, bring it on. Early Autumn is an amazingly abundant time of year, and we have no less variety in this season than we had at the height of summer. In the Fall, a whole new cast of characters take the stage. Leeks, celeriac, turnips and radishes, cabbages, potatoes, carrots and beets, sweet potatoes and squashes. Oh the marvelous winter squash!  There will be so many inspiring things to cook, most of which would be unpalatable during the warmer times just weeks ago. Soups, stews, roasts, gratins, purées....roasted vegetables and pies! Once you embrace the cool season, you don't even miss the tomatoes. Well, maybe just a little.



Our tomato yield this season has been just wonderful and if these warmer days continue like this week we will be harvesting up to the last blush of tomato can be picked. What will remain of the green tomatoes will go into piccalilli that I make annually.  This morning I picked 30 more pounds of roma tomatoes to roast and prepare sauce with.  We've put up forty quart jars of whole plums and roasted the rest.

The herbs are nearly all harvested and drying for winter dishes and tea, and as I was finishing up today in the garden I decided to sow some last minute bloomsdale spinach and more greens.  The hoop house is now cleared out from the seasons peppers and eggplant, so it was a good spot to plant my garlic for next Spring.
I hope your garden has been as bountiful as ours. Til next thyme...happy gardening.

Stuffed Pattypan Squash

Stuffed Pattypan Squash

2 medium eggplants cut into chunks
2 summer squash, halved lengthwise and cut
2 pattypan squash, halved and quartered
2 zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut
2 cousa squash, halved lengthwise and cut
2 sweet red peppers,halved, deseeded and chopped
1 bulb of fennel, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 medium red onion, peeled and cut into wedges
2 shallots finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb ground lamb *optional
1 cup cooked jasmine rice
2 TBLS lemon rosemary olive oil
2 TBLS minced fresh parsley
½ tsp summer savory, minced
1/4 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
sea salt & ground pepper to taste
2 oz crumbed feta cheese
3 oz shredded fontina cheese
6 additional pattypan squash-washed & scooped out

Wash, pat dry and cut all the vegetables. No need to be fussy, as you will cut them all again once they've been roasted. Toss them all into a large bowl and drizzle olive oil over and toss very well, so that they all been coated in the olive. Place them onto your parchment lined sheet pans, sprinkle fresh herbs, seasonings and one last drizzle of olive oil. Try not to overlap the vegetables on your cooking sheet though, so that they will roast better this way. Roast in a 400 degree oven for approximately 30 - 40 minutes, or until the vegetables are cooked through and just crisping around the edges. Sprinkle a little white vinegar over the vegetables as soon as they come out of the oven and set aside to cool. Once the vegetables have cooled, dice them up into smaller, bite sized pieces.

As your vegetables are roasting, trim tops and with a spoon, scoop out pattypan pulp. Chop and reserve.

In a skillet saute the shallots, and ground lamb in a bit of olive oil. Add the chopped pattypan pulp last and cook for just a few minutes.

Add cheese mixture to the roasted vegetables, the jasmine rice and blend this with the lamb mixture and toss gently. Spoon mixture into reserved pattypan shells. Sprinkle with paprika. Place in an ungreased baking dish and pour water or vegetable stock into bottom of pan about 1/4 way up the side of the squash.
Cover and bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until heated through. Uncover and bake 5 minutes longer or until cheese is lightly browned. I like to spritz fresh lemon juice over these pattypans before serving. Enjoy!

Snippets from the garden

How many of you have too much squash in your garden?? LOL Zucchini, delicata, pattypans, summer, cousa..the list goes on and on here. Now, it's pepper time.. hot hot hot!  Love em all! And then the beans.. gads we have so many green beans this year.  After a touch of the Japanese bean beetle--I was surprised our yields would be so great.  I've been doing a lot of canning this season--pickling much, preparing many relishes and then of course there's the jams & jellies...  blueberry, raspberry, plum, and peach amaretto so far.

                                   The edamame are coming along.. I can't wait to steam these up.

And I couldn't wait on the red fingerlings.. just had to pick a few for dinner the other night. I can't believe how well they've grown. Besides being so gorgeous--they were just scrumptious tasting too!
 

 

 

Bread and Butter Pickles

Bread and Butter Pickles

3 lbs Kirby cukes (known as pickling cucumbers)
1 lb yellow onions. thinly sliced
1/4 cup kosher salt - don't use regular salt or your pickles will look cloudy and not so perdy
1 1/4 cup white vinegar
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 TBLS mustard seed
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
3/4 tsp celery seed
1 tsp pickling spice
1 inch cinnamon stick ( to be removed at the end of the cook
6-8 allspice berries plus a pinch of ground allspice
6 whole cloves. plus a pinch of ground cloves
1/2 tsp tumeric

Clean the cukes and cut off the ends. Slice them into 1/8th - 1/4 inch slices and place in a large bowl. Slice the onions and also add to the bowl sprinkling pickling salt over all. Toss this mixture up well. Now cover the mix with a clean towel--really. just set the towel on top of all the cukes and onions. Then cover the towel with ice cubes so the whole towel is covered. Put the bowl in your refrigerator for several hours.. (at least four.. overnight even better). Take the bowl out and throw away the ice. Rinse off your cukes and onions and drain the water. Do this a second time now to remove any excess salt.



Now--if you intend to keep your jars of pickles on a shelf. or give them away at Christmas. you'll need to process the jars appropriately. If you're bringing them to a picnic this weekend. move on to the next paragraph now. Clean your jars and lids with soap and water. then. while your cooking the pickles. pour boiling water over the lids in a separate bowl. Most people consider the dishwasher to be enough sterilization for jars. so go ahead and just set the jars aside. ready to fill. If you insist on actual sterilization (I happen to do this with everything I put in a jar). place the jars in boiling water in a big stock pot for 10 minutes. Then. take them out just before you put the pickles in them so they are still hot.

Grab a six quart pot and bring the vinegars, sugar and all the spices to a gentle boil. Once the sugar is dissolved, add the cukes and onions and bring this to a boil again. You'll want to stir frequently. When the mixture starts to boil again, use a slotted spoon to pack just the cukes and onions into your clean jars. Pack them up to an inch from the top of the jars. Then use a ladle to pour the vinegar syrup over the cukes and into the jars, up to half an inch from the tops. Wipe all the rims of the jars clean with a damp paper towel, then take your lids out of the hot water to cover your jars. If you're not keeping these on a shelf, go ahead and let them cool, then put all the jars in the fridge. Viola.. done! I hope you took a minute to get a taste before you sealed your jars!

What's at stake--pole beans

  My  Romano green beans have sprouted, and they are looking for my support–something I’ve come to expect in a good pole bean, and gardening along the ocean can have it's pitfalls, namely high winds.   After trying all kinds of structures and contraptions–trellises, teepees, stakes, sticks, I've decided to stick with my tried and true teepee. With just a little adjusting of two 15 inch rods to anchor it into the ground--this expandable teepee isn't going to budge. And best of all, at the end of the growing season it simply collapses for easy storeage. Made of bamboo, this will be the eighth year of use for us.  We've grown peas as well on this teepee and it never seems to fail us.How do you stake your beans?