What are You Eating from the Garden?

[flowerbug]

@ninnymary the first of the petit gris melons was delicious. i ate the small half of it as i was cutting it up - the other half went into the fridge for Mom to enjoy.

 

[ninnymary]

I am having a slight problem knowing when to pick them at their prime. I've been picking when slight yellow blush and though it is sweet and delicious the flesh is not as firm as I'd like. So then I pick when greener and they are bland.

Describe the flesh on yours Flowerbug. I prefer firm.

Mary

 

[flowerbug]

I am having a slight problem knowing when to pick them at their prime. I've been picking when slight yellow blush and though it is sweet and delicious the flesh is not as firm as I'd like. So then I pick when greener and they are bland.

Describe the flesh on yours Flowerbug. I prefer firm.

i picked my first one when the color changes (half or more of the melon changes color) and before it had started to split. i don't mind it being a bit on the softer side as i'd rather have the flavor, but i think if they are left too long then they aren't as good flavor either. so yes, getting one that is just right is an art form along with having the weather and critters cooperate.

also if you pick them early and they are bland you can sweeten them up with a little honey and that is better than throwing them out. i've had to do that for the ones that come along later after the peak weather has passed.

this year was so hot and dry that the melon plants did not really get going until a few weeks later than normal so i'm not expecting much from them. that we got one was great and i see a few more out there that should be ok before it starts getting cooler. i don't know for sure though until i get them picked.

 

[digitS']

Zucchini bread and

Crenshaw melon and Galia melon, with tea from garden herbs -- for a second breakfast . Lunch will be stuffed peppers.

We are nearing the time when there won't be all those corncobs on their way out of the kitchen most every day . But, also the time when it will be difficult to find room for things going in the freezer.

 

[Branching Out]

August means basil, and pesto night-- with three half pint jars tucked into the freezer for winter. Ours is simple, and made with walnuts, garlic, salt, basil, olive oil, and freshly grated parmesan. All of the basil stalks will be set aside for bunny. Yum!

 

[digitS']

Cabbage rolls, gai lan and crenshaw melon were for dinner, tonight. Kinda "brassica dominant" but that's okay. Having crackers for an evening snack ...

Harvest today was quite limited compared to recently. No melon seemed quite ready to come home. The sweetcorn is finished for the season. Late potatoes gave up and were dug last week. One planting of beans was just giving up a remaining few while the final planting had just a handful to begin their run. A double handful of broccoli buds. There was a nice bucket of tomatoes, several eggplants, and plenty of peppers, sweet & hot.

The weather was sweet & HOT. Low of 58°f this morning rising to 97°f by late afternoon (14°C to 36°C). I didn't mind not being exhausted from the pickin' & carryin' and being able to turn the water on, take a nice long break with a 2nd breakfast, and head home in the late morning. There was an errand to run and the heat was oppressive this afternoon. A BIG rain is forecast for tomorrow night!

The Summer planting of peas is growing nicely. More starts for Asian greens are out there and also in shady locations here at home. The lettuce is behaving much as expected, faltering in the heat and waiting for it to be too cold to grow but, I should wait and try to be optimistic. The 2 refrigerators are crammed, the freezers are close to being full but there's some "writing on the wall" re: time of the year.

Steve

 

[flowerbug]

@digitS' have you normally had a good fall crop of peas? the times i've tried them it seems they get rather beaten up by powdery mildew or just don't do much at all in the end.

today's dinner was half an onion, chopped hot pepper, nuked for five minutes, topped with cheese and garlic salt and then added a whole tomato and warmed it up a bit more. other than the cheese and the garlic salt everything else was grown here. i could eat these hot peppers with cheese and onions and tomatoes every day. when i get tired of that i can use some bacon instead of the garlic salt.

 

[digitS']

fall crop of peas ... don't do much at all in the end.

That's a possibility but we will have some servings of pea tendrils whether or not they develop snow pea pods. There is no problem more than half the years.

Powdery mildew is so likely during the Summer that there is no reason to keep the early sowing of peas after their first production of pods. The best late days to start them here that I have found is during the final week of July. Anytime after that is likely to be just for the tendrils. In 2022, a hard frost was so late that there was lots of leeway.

 

[digitS']

Lunch, yesterday:

Pan fried tilapia with dill
Green beans
Winter squash (not bad )
Bok choy

The bok choy was all flower stalks. It may sound strange but I prefer them to the heavy stems of younger plants. The intent when setting out the plants is to keep some of them going until this stage so, the starts are crowded. Some are pulled and come into the kitchen to be used young. Those remaining certainly find good use – think broccolini or sumthin .

 

[Dirtmechanic]

Peppers. I have been boiling them to make a sauce through my tomato press. This morning it was about 25% tomato, 75 peppers. Banana and others

My favorite chili paste (not siracha sp?) was a fairly mellow chili paste with the rooster logo. You would not want more than a spoonful in your plate with that heat. I cannot buy it and this vid explains why..

I instantly tasted the reality of how it was made in my boiled pepper paste and said to myself "Yo! Keep going forward!"..


Sriracha pepper source for sauce.