July 30, 2012

A 'Superfreak' warted pumpkin grows to 20 pounds.

Rich tomato sauce.

It's true, gardening has numerous health benefits, but to us it's also an excuse to enjoy a touch of something special.  We would probably never buy so much fresh organic produce, or make gourmet recipes featuring garden vegetables if we did not grow them.  We're willing to work hard on the gardening end, because we like the product.  So when we pick a bushel of paste tomatoes and process them into fresh, thick juice; then reduce it down in a stock pot to rich organic tomato sauce, we're usually thinking of pizza sauce, garden spaghetti, skillet barbecued pork chops (see Note 1 below), and the like.

Cicada and its molted shell.

Fruits of harvest are ripening as cicadas buzz from tree to tree, signaling that midsummer has gone, and late summer is come.  The end of July is time to take stock of all we have brought in during the last four months.  Summer 2012 has been wilting, but copious (abundant) thanks to sufficient rain.  Our pantry and freezers are stocked to capacity.  We know much of the country can't say the same, and due to extreme drought, the price of food is going up.  Interestingly, weather sources are saying an El Niño will take hold by December.

Bumble bee on a pumpkin flower.

It's our traditional time to start mixing up salsas, and this year we may try some corn salsa.  Our second crop of sweet corn is ready to be enjoyed as individual ears reach maturity.  By this weekend, we will pick the whole corn crop and freeze what we will not be eating fresh.

Sweet corn ready to harvest.

Note 1 -- SKILLET BARBECUED PORK CHOPS

4-6 Bone-In Pork Chops
1 T. Vegetable Oil
1/2 Cup Chopped Celery
3 T. Brown Sugar
2 T. Lemon Juice
1/2 t. Dry Mustard
3/4 t. Salt
1/8 t. Pepper
16-Ounce Jar of Tomato Sauce

In large skillet with tight fitting lid, brown chops in oil over medium heat.  Pour off excess fat.  Sprinkle celery, brown sugar, lemon juice, and seasonings evenly over chops.  Pour tomato sauce over all.  Cover, simmer over low heat 1 hour or until tender.

Skillet Barbecued Pork Chop with corn and melon.

August 1, 2011

Just like the crescendoed climax of a great symphony, we have come through peak garden harvest and are enjoying the little surprises and turns of the year as the season winds down. August for us is traditionally a month to take a break from the dizzying pace of July gardening; it is too hot, buggy, and muggy to work outdoors.  But even if the weather is uncomfortable we wouldn't want to miss out on some late summer treats.

Two halves of a sweet-as-sugar honeydew,
and Roma tomatoes on one of a dozen bushes

Our jungle of plants is starting to look dull and worn out.  Sweet corn is finished; whatever we didn't harvest is bloated and already past prime - the stalks will make nice autumn decorations dried and bundled into shocks.  Green bush beans have slowed production, although we had enough to once again pressure can last week.  We decided that will be the last time, and although we will try to keep picking beans to encourage more, we need only enough to eat fresh through August.  By September we will let our plants set pods that ripen seed to plant next year; we've been planting the same Blue Lake snap bush beans from saved seed now for five years.

Bushels of tomatoes ready to process

Melons and tomatoes are still the focus as we change to late summer.  The garden ripened four melons per day last week!  Despite canning tomatoes a week ago, there were twice as many this weekend.  We use a food strainer/sauce maker that screens out seeds, skins, and stems from raw tomatoes without having to cook, peel and core, which cuts canning time in half...well, almost, if you don't count the spurts and squirts and equipment that need to be cleaned up.  We end up with rich tomato sauce that gets cooked only in the canning.  The strainer comes with screens that also work on apples for sauce, pumpkins for puree, salsa, and berries.

Whole tomatoes, sauce, and juice

Bell and jalapeno peppers are still coming regularly (salsa!), and cucumber bushes are hanging out a third harvest on the cuke fence.  A second crop of zucchini planted from seed at the end of June are finally ready to start producing, and now that we've had a break from zucchini, we are ready to appreciate it again especially in spiced zucchini bread.  Speaking of spiced breads, there are a few New England Pie pumpkins already turning orange in our pumpkin patch.  When a pumpkin fruit sets, we keep it off the ground by placing a roofing shingle underneath - this protects the developing fruit from insects that like to bore holes and cause soft rot.  'Heritage' red raspberry produces two crops per year and is now in bloom for its fall crop; new canes are still growing up that will produce later in the season.  Indoors, brussels sprouts seedlings are ready to be transplanted into larger containers and moved outdoors.



New England Pie pumpkin resting on a roofing shingle