8.21.2014

garden :: kitchen























the garden is shifting over to a late summer/early fall garden.  flowers are covered with bees and gorgeous blooms, the garlic is cured, the onions are drying, beans are coming on strong still and the squashes and pumpkins are succumbing to powdery mildew.  the tomatillos look good and the okra is almost ready for me to pick a little bit (there isn't much out there, just 8 or 10 plants) so I can try to pickle some.  I'd like to do the same with some of our beets.  the tomatoes are still looking good, and I've got my fingers crossed against the blight this year.  we've got fewer tomato plants than usual this year (maybe a dozen or so) what with all of our own starts not amounting to much with the late start and little care they got early in the spring when my mother was so sick and there was little time to plan for and ready the garden.  we ended up being given several happy and healthy starts from a farmer friend, and while they are some of the tastiest and most colorful tomatoes I've ever grown, I may have to supplement what we've got with some others for canning as about half of them are cherry varieties.  (oh but wouldn't a tomato sauce made just with sun golds be amazing?)

in terms of fruit, the melons are ready, we're still munching quite a few blueberries, and the strawberries are flowering again and giving up just a few sweet little berries here and there.  one of our two apple trees has about 8 or 9 apples on it and the couple we've tasted so far were quite delicious.  the peach, pear and plum trees are yet to fruit, as is the blackberry.  our elderberries were looking pretty good but the birds were on them immediately and I figured since I've still got nearly half a pound of dried berries left from what I bought last year for syrup making, I'd let the birds have them and net them next year.  I expect we'll have a second fruiting with the raspberries again as we did last year, but I remember (not fondly) how very quickly the fall raspberries get taken over by the spotted wing drosophila (little flies that lay their babies in the berries as soon as they start to ripen- how mean is that?).

recently sown seeds are sprouting (kale, beets, lettuces, carrots, radishes, chard) and I'm heading out to seed more broccoli raab and pac choi.

I thought the chickens would enjoy having their coop fancied up a bit with a nice new sign.  plus it will help in case we forget where the coop is, of course.

I didn't take many photos in the kitchen this week~  it's been toast with blueberry jam or yogurt with blueberries and honey for breakfast,  snack trays (cheese, crackers, veggies and such) for lunch, and a mix of garden goodness (heavy on the salads and greens), Chinese takeout, and a squash casserole my dad pawned off on me (given to him by a neighbor but "what was he going to do?" with a whole casserole?) for dinner.  there was also some more canning- dilly beans and curried zucchini pickles.  next up, more dilly beans and hopefully some pickled beets and okra.


*joining along with both Amanda and Heather for their garden and kitchen series.

24 comments:

  1. hello,
    the garden and food photos are beautiful!!!
    enjoy your harvest!
    have a great rest week,
    regina

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    1. Hi Regina,
      thank you so much~ I hope you have a great week, too!

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  2. I am straight up jealous of all that produce!! I just want to hold it all!

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    1. well what are you waiting for? come on over!

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  3. How very very beautiful! And I love your very simple meal plans! Sometimes they taste the best!

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    1. thank you! oh yes, especially during the summer, meals just have to be sweet and simple~

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  4. Looks wonderful! We have been pickling beets and green beans, and filling with the freezer. So much goodness. It is going to be a good winter :)

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    1. thank you, Kim! I've never made pickled beets- do you have a favorite recipe?

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  5. My guys love okra and can each sit down with a jar and finish it off in one sitting.
    Love seeing the apples, squirrels ate mine.

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    1. oh I love just about any kind of pickled veggies, but okra is super yummy. can't wait to make some, even if it will likely only be a few jars.

      silly squirrels!

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  6. What a fabulous harvest! Those are some gorgeous squashes you are growing!

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    1. thank you! and most of those squashes are very pretty accidents- volunteers from the compost heap!

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  7. An amazing crop, you can't beat the taste of food you have grown and harvested yourself. Your meal plans are simple but delightful. Have a great week.

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    1. indeed- there's something so satisfying about a meal pulled together from things you grew yourself, I love it. I hope you have a great week as well~

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  8. What photos Amanda! Great colors, textures, and arrangements. Our red raspberries were hit with the same insect last year, but this year were okay. I was really worried about it though, because it is just so awful. Beautiful ripe berries that you can't eat because they're wriggling inside!

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    1. thank you, Katie!
      I'm waiting with fingers crossed that our raspberries will be spared this year. last year it wasn't a problem until the fall crop, something about the life cycle of the fly not really coming in line with that of the berries until later in the year....... if I see any my plan is to just pick them and freeze them, or maybe make jam and just cook the little buggers right in there. maybe.

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  9. It's terrific how you grow so much out of your garden. Those gourds/squash are neat with that two-toned coloring.

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    1. we try! we do what we can in our smallish yard, and dream about what we could do with several acres, or even just a couple.

      aren't they beautiful? they are all volunteers from the compost pile!

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  10. oh my! those pictures are soooo beautiful... i am so glad you have a camera again. you have captured the season so perfectly in this post. the garlic next to the dry woodpile... tomatoes and gourds... pumpkins even?? love it. just love it. thanks for sharing :)

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    1. thank you Jenny! those multi-colored gourds and tiny pumpkins are volunteers from a few decorative gourds I bought from a kid at the tailgate market last fall that eventually ended up in the compost. we must have about fifty little gourds!

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  11. Fantastic! All those beautiful goodies. Blessed be!

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    1. thanks sweet friend~ nice hearing from you! can't wait to watch more of your videos and hear your lovely voice some more!
      xo

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  12. wow that pink flower is so vibrant! What kind of butterly is that, I can't believe I've never seen one before.

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    1. it is a pipevine swallowtail, and thanks for asking, because I was content just going with "some kinda swallowtail" and now I know, too

      the zinnias are incredibly colorful!

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thanks for taking the time to read and comment~