Tag Archives: garden

>Chocolate Zucchini Bread

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>This is a delicious, light (not lite) recipe. It’s sweet, but not heavy-tasting. Chocolate chips might be fun; I didn’t add those to this batch. Instead of two regular sized loaves, I made one regular and three small loaves. I’ll freeze at least two of the little ones for later. Use a good quality cocoa; it makes a difference.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread
makes 2 loaves

Beat together:

1/2 cup butter or margarine
2 cups sugar
3 eggs or 3/4 cup egg substitute
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups grated zucchini
1/2 cup milk

Sift and add:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cup wheat flour
1/2 cup cocoa
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Pour into two greased loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 50-60 minutes.

Don’t tell the Boyz; I added wheat germ and flax seed. This sweet treat actually has fiber. Shh.

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It might be September if…

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It’s September at the Okaybyme Household! How can you tell? Here are the signs.

10. School has started – for Daisy and for Amigo.
9. Trees are falling. I mean leaves are falling – a few, anyway.
8. The crock pot has a semi-permanent home in the kitchen again.
7. The lunch boxes are getting regular use.
6. There’s fresh zucchini bread (chocolate this time!) in the kitchen.
5. We’re eating the opponent again! Check the GB Packers schedule, find a food from the opposing team’s locale, and make it on Friday or Saturday night.
4. I wear a jacket to walk to school in the morning and carry it home.
3. It’s hard to decide between hot coffee and a blended latte over ice.
2. The green and gold spirit clothes are at the front of the closet.
1. People are locking their car doors at church so they don’t find the backseats full of zucchini when they come out!!
Credit to Garrison Keillor for suggesting #1. He’s such a funny storyteller because his anecdotes have a strong basis in read life!

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>Butternut Squash Soup in the slow cooker

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>I used my big slow cooker, the 6 qt model, for this soup. One butternut squash yields a lot of squash! I may need to freeze some of the soup for later.

Ingredients:
1 large butternut squash (about 4 lb), peeled, seeded, and cut into pieces
(estimated amount: 10 cups)
1 large apple, peeled, cored, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium white onion, diced
1 large carrot, peeled, diced
2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
3 1/2 cups chicken broth or chicken stock
1 Tablespoon minced fresh ginger root
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
Directions:
Spray slow cooker with non-stick spray. In cooker, toss squash, apple, onion, carrot, curry powder, salt, and white pepper. Pour broth over vegetable mixture.
Cover; cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-5 hours.
Use immersion blender or remove small amounts of soup (3 cups at a time) into blender to blend until smooth. Add milk and brown sugar while blending.
Turn heat setting to high. Cover; cook for another 30 minutes.
Serve. Enjoy.
The question remains: how will I prepare the hybrid?

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>The Daisy Reality Show Returns!

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>

Director: What’s on the agenda today?
Daisy: Farmers’ Market. That’s always on the schedule for Saturdays. grabs the big bag on wheels, full of other smaller cloth bags
Assistant: You have a garden. Why do you need the Market?
Daisy: Quantity. I have quality, but I need more to fill the freezer and feed my family. Wow, and I’m alliterative, too.
Director: laughs
Assistant: huh? looks confused
At downtown market
Daisy: Sweet corn. I’ll take a dozen.
Director: Do you always buy a lot of whatever is in season?
Daisy: Absolutely. Part of the locavore philosophy is eating what’s in season so it doesn’t have to travel a long way to reach the table. The theme ingredient on my table right now is (drumroll) tomatoes.
They continue down the street, taking in the booths, while Daisy picks out fresh peaches, zucchini, green peppers, sweet corn, butternut squash, blueberries, fresh honey oat bread, and a luxury, kettle corn. Oh, heck, just see the picture below.
Assistant: (sniffing the air near kettle corn booth.) Wow, that smells good.
Daisy: Try some.
Assistant: Oh, oh, this is good. Oh, oh!
Director sotto voce: Let’s leave him here to enjoy his kettle corn.
Assistant: OH, THIS IS WONDERFUL!!
Woman at kettle corn booth: I’ll have what he’s having.
Back at Daisy’s house unpacking the goods.
Assistant: I know I asked you this. Why did you buy zucchini and butternut squash? You planted both.
Daisy: Look at what I bought. Then go out to the garden and look at the squash plants.
Director: Let’s get a good shot of the produce we just bought.

Assistant, back from garden: Daisy, what do you call that kind of squash? Butter-chini? Zuchnut?





Daisy: Hybrid. Turns to director. Let’s take a break and watch a movie while the soaker hose does its work on the tomatoes. How about When Harry Met Sally?

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>Tomatoes + Peppers = Salsa

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My dear readers;
I’m in my final session of training for my new job, and I’ve been using most of my online time to learn the new software for presenting live lessons to my online students and their learning coaches. I must beg off from presenting a new recipe today. I posted this one last fall and made it again last week. Since I have tomatoes and peppers ripening like crazy, some of you must have those around, too. Feel free to adapt the peppers to include whatever you’re harvesting! A hot red chili pepper instead of the dried kind… a sweet yellow banana pepper instead of the yellow bell… you know how these things work.


Tomato Salsa Dip


1 small to medium onion, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
4 ripe tomatoes, cored, peeled, and diced (mine were small, so I used 7)
1 cup tomato juice
2 teaspoons dried hot red pepper flakes
5 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
4 Tablespoons water
Directions:
1. Warm the onion, peppers, tomatoes, tomato juice, hot pepper flakes, red wine vinegar, and brown sugar in a saucepan.
2. Mix the cornstarch and the water and add to the simmering salsa.
3. Stir until thickened. Then remove from heat and allow to cool.

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>Canning Rhubarb

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>It was time. Despite the heat of the day, I donned my Pike Place Market apron and headed to the kitchen. I opened the book to the rhubarb page and got started.

Earlier this spring, I made stewed rhubarb. It was a hit with three out of four family members. I had in mind using City Slipper’s advice for canning rhubarb, a high-acid fruit, with my own stewed rhubarb recipe, and canning the results. His recipe suggests 11 lb. of rhubarb, 1 1/2 pounds for each quart jar, for a full batch. I made half that.
4 quarts diced rhubarb
2-3 cups sugar
Combine rhubarb and sugar in large saucepan. When juice accumulates in the bottom of the pan, cover it, turn the heat on low, and let the rhubarb and sugar mixture come to a boil, then simmer until mixture resembles chunky applesauce. Mash with a potato masher if the pieces are too big.
Can: Fill canning jars with the boiling rhubarb sauce, leaving the standard 1/2 inch of headspace. Slide a chopstick down the insides of the jars to release the air bubbles if necessary. Add lids and bands, and process the jars in a hot water bath canner for 15 minutes.
The shelves are starting to get stocked! Three kinds of jam, stewed rhubarb, and we’re off and rolling. It will be so much fun to take a jar off the shelf instead of writing these items on the grocery list; and it’ll taste so much better, too!
I used instructions from Daniel Gasteiger’s Yes, You Can! and freeze and dry it, too to create this recipe. Any errors, however, are mine. I recommend his book to anyone interested in preserving food. You can follow Daniel on Twitter at @CitySlipper or read his blogs.
http://www.smallkitchengarden.net
http://www.homekitchengarden.com
http://www.fooddryer.net

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>Signs of a True Gardener

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>You may be a gardener at heart if:

  • There’s dirt under your nails.
Dirt? Is that all? I either have dirt under my nails or fingers stained with cherries, strawberries, or thumbs that are green from shelling peas or – you get the picture.
  • You think of soil as a foundation, the stable ingredient in creating a garden space.
After ten years of composting – okay, twelve – the soil in my first garden bed is rich and dark and drains well. The new garden needs a little more compost. It’s still heavy with clay, but improving a little every year.
  • You have a specific pair of shoes for the garden.
I have a pair of crocs. I can get them wet or muddy and I don’t care.
  • Watering is relaxing, not stressful.
Filling a watering can from a rain barrel or setting up a soaker hose takes time. It’s a good use of time. My mind wanders, my shoulders relax, and any stress headache goes away.
  • You welcome rain or sunshine.
Rain provides a good soaking to the plants and fills the rain barrels for later. Sunshine invites stems and branches to reach for the sky and grow to their full potential.
  • You talk to the plants.
“Geez, beans, I gave you a nice set of climbing equipment. Why do you insist on attaching to the fencing? It’ll just put you within range of the bunnies and other furry critters who might nibble, and then… here. I’ll show you.” Meanwhile, I’m wrapping the bean vines around the supports I just put in and hoping they get the idea. And maybe hoping the neighbors didn’t hear me.
  • You talk to critters who might turn up near your precious plants.
Hey, rabbit, how did you get in there? What do you think you’re doing, relaxing in my lettuce?

I only came up with seven. Can you make this a top ten list, readers? Add your signs of a true gardener by commenting.

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>Garden Mishaps

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Garden growth and development are dependent on so many variables. Rain, sun, quality seeds, critters… oh, yes, critters. I walked out to the garden to pick the few peas that are growing, and I found this little furball sitting in my lettuce. In my LETTUCE!!

My reaction (you won’t be surprised) was to stop in my tracks, look that bunny right in the eye, and call out, “How did YOU get in there?” It didn’t answer me. Smart rabbit. It did show me its exit strategy: a piece of chicken wire that had pulled lose from the garage wall, right behind the rain barrel.


If you’d like to read the rest of my garden mishaps, go to Green Spot-On for my Monday guest post.

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>Steak with Corn Salsa

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>

Chuck may not realize it, but watching him cook is aesthetically pleasing. Besides the aromas wafting through the house, he has a knack for gathering all the ingredients in a visual artistic kind of way. Here’s today’s recipe, in progress. He gets full points for presentation, both during cook time and on the table.


Chuck made this Sunday night. I’m planning to make it again later in the summer when the corn is local and fresh. We used green onions and cilantro from the garden this time, and we’ll have jalapenos and plum tomatoes available later in the gardening season.

Steak with Corn Salsa
3 cups fresh corn
4 scallions, green and white parts cut separately
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic
1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 plum tomato, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, diced
1 pound steak
1/4 cup cilantro, freshly chopped
Pan roast corn in a large skillet, stirring occasionally until browned. Transfer to bowl.
Cook the white part of the scallion in the butter along with the garlic and 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
Remove skillet from heat and stir in corn, jalapeno, and tomato.
Combine remaining spices and season steak. Cook to desired heat. Transfer to cutting board. While steak cools, reheat the corn mixture. Stir in green scallions and cilantro.
Slice steak into thin slices, top with corn mixture, and serve!
Amigo heard the recipe on one of his favorite Saturday morning radio shows, Zorba Paster on Your Health. He suggested we try it, and we’re glad we did. This one is a winner, Zorba. Thanks for sharing!

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>Rain, rain, come my way!

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>The thunder yesterday sounded encouraging, but the storm dropped so little water that I felt I still needed to lug around the watering can again.

It’s been so dry (how dry was it?) that I’ve used up all the water in both rain barrels and I’m filling the watering can from the house tap. Sigh. It feels so wasteful! I’ve almost – almost, mind you – been tempted to hook up a sprinkler.
In the category of wasteful, sprinklers score a capital W for Wasting Water. Why? Find my Monday post at Green Spot-On for more detail.

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