Despite the nasty heat, my new job, ducks of destruction (au revoir Haricot Rouge du Burkina Faso cow peas!), and an occasional rampant chicken; the garden is thriving. I had planned to pull up the onions this morning and leave them to dry, but there are severe thunderstorms in the forecast. I'll wait until tomorrow. The potatoes are ready to pull up as well. It looks like I'll be out there with the garden fork, digging up goodness for most of the day.
There has been a complete reversal of our old roles here at Little Creek Farm. The garden is now solely my charge and Charlie has taken over all canning. Which is fine with me.
I pulled out all the cabbage a couple of days ago. There were a total of twenty heads. What do I do with so much cabbage? We are planning a root cellar, but it's not ready. Charlie made about 12 jars of a sort of a chow-chow/kim chee. It's an experiment. I'm still looking at 12 heads of cabbage. The current issue of Mother Earth News arrived yesterday with recipes for sauerkraut (There is also an article on eating local food). I may have to try my hand at making some, although we don't really like saurkraut... Any other ideas for cabbage out there?
All beets have been pulled and there are way too many jars of pickled beets sitting on the shelves now. We've put up close to 30 jars of blackberry jam. The rest of the blackberries will be going in the freezer. We know what everyone is getting for Christmas...
And for the rest ~
Variety of Beans - going well, although slowing down a little in the heat wave. We'll be canning soon. The second crop is coming in and I'm getting ready to start a third crop.
Hookers Red Corn - is looking pitiful, but there are lots of little ears. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Its location has gotten a little shady.
Fennel - is looking lovely.
Cucumbers - are rocking.
Tomatoes - are going crazy. We had the first, Black Prince, on Sunday. Very sweet.
Carrots - I love Cosmic Purple and Amarillo Yellow. No more orange here! I'm pulling them all this weekend and planting more for fall.
It's time to get fall crops in. I had about a week where I could just enjoy the bounty. Now it's back to weeding and planting. I love growing stuff.
Friday, July 21, 2006
Garden Update
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About the only thing I know to do with cabbage is make slaw. But there must be a hundred unique recipes out there. My mom's has a coarse cut and lots of horseradish, but I've never been able to make it come out quite right.
ReplyDeleteI guess there's stuffed cabbage too, but that uses more stuff than cabbage.
Impressive canning volume though, despite the feathery helpers.
I haven't made kraut yet(although I want to), but the fresh kraut I've had is really good.
ReplyDeleteHow do you plan to store all this stuff (mainly the root crops) until your root cellar is finished (and when will that be?)? Maybe you don't grow 60 lbs of potatoes like me, but I'm curious.
Maggie--
ReplyDeleteHere is one slaw recipe that I can vouch for enthusiastically. I like it best cold.
Courtesy of Ina Garten & The Food Network.
Enjoy.
-James
Blue Cheese Cole Slaw
Copyright 2005, Ina Garten, All Rights Reserved
Show: Barefoot Contessa
Episode: Barefoot Reunion
Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 3 hours
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
1/2 small head green cabbage
1/2 small head red cabbage
4 large carrots, scrubbed or peeled
2 cups (16 ounces) good mayonnaise
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) crumbled Roquefort blue cheese
1 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
Cut the cabbages in half and then in quarters and cut out the cores. Set up the food processor with the slicing blade (according to manufacturer's instructions) and place the pieces of cabbage, one at a time, lying horizontally in the feed tube. (If they don't fit, cut them to fit lying down.) Place the feed tube pusher on top and turn on the processor. Don't push on the feed tube pusher or the slices will turn out too thick! Continue with the remaining red and green cabbage quarters. Transfer into a large bowl, discarding any very large pieces. Before you pour the dressing on the salad, save a handful of the grated vegetables to decorate for serving.
Change the slicing blade for the large shredding blade and cut the carrots so they also lie down in the feed tube. Since the carrots are hard, replace the feed tube pusher and press firmly with the food processor on. Transfer to bowl with the cabbages.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, both mustards, vinegar, celery salt, kosher salt, and pepper. Pour enough mayonnaise dressing over the grated vegetables and toss to moisten well. Add crumbled blue cheese and parsley and toss together. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours to allow the flavors to meld. Serve cold or at room temperature.