What are You Eating from the Garden?

[flowerbug]

...
Thought of putting this in the pest section. Even tho I don't want them in the yard, they aren't much of pests. And, I wonder if they should be packing their bags since the walnuts from across the road are no longer available.

we don't see them in the yard here much because we don't grow nuts or acorns here, but they do run along the north hedge and get into the acorns way out back and they do move them around and "plant" them here because we'll find them sprouting in various places. i'm pretty sure the animals are spreading the forest faster than would have happened without them doing that work for the trees - the acorn can only fall and roll so far...

the population will adjust to the food supply, they can't escape that for long and it is likely that if they try to move on they would be dealing with the established population in that new place.

just like i see the population of chipmunks fluctuates with food supply and if i can hunt or trap them enough to keep them from having a population boom, but if i trap out the dominant males then eventually they will be replaced by another and the cycle then continues.

 

[digitS']

Portuguese kale soup, today.

Shallots and garlic from the garden. Beans are Rattlesnake from 2020. Feel confident eating those since the 2021 are stripped from the vines and the pods are off of them. Potatoes and carrots - we are set to go!

I will bake Pumpkin Raisin Cookies for afternoon snacking. Have enough winter squash left over from earlier pie making for 2 dozen.

Garbanzo the dog will have to make do with some beef broth on her dog food. Oh, maybe a bite of cookie. Cookie!

Steve

 

[digitS']

And, here we go

 

[Phaedra]

Today we have the annual delicacy - baby corn. I cleaned most of the corn today and got some baby corn. I sat in the chicken run and removed the husks; well, a lovely way to do something and stay with the flock.
Some not fully pollinated looked funny, and of course, chickens got some like the top of this one.

What a pretty one

Then, one hen (always aggressive for food) robbed one of the baby corn after observing me for about 10 minutes.

The variety I planted is waxy, and I love it more than ordinary sweet corn.

The baby corn, leek, and broccoli became one of our dishes for dinner. I fried them with garlic butter, so fresh and sweet. Baby corn is not popular here in Germany, and what we can buy is imported from Asia through a very long distance. Therefore, it's always exciting to harvest our baby corn after a 6-month effort starting from the day I sowed them.

 

[digitS']

... Baby corn is not popular here in Germany

How about sweet corn, is that a common vegetable in German gardens, Phaedra?

I understand that the British had some trouble developing an interest in corn for something other than cornmeal. It's understandable. I'm not sure if there were early-maturing varieties until the1930's.

Steve

 

[Phaedra]

How about sweet corn, is that a common vegetable in German gardens, Phaedra?

I understand that the British had some trouble developing an interest in corn for something other than cornmeal. It's understandable. I'm not sure if there were early-maturing varieties until the1930's.

Steve

Yes, sweet corn is more common here, but the quantity is pretty limited. Most of the cornfields we see produce feeds for animals. Besides, the temperature is usually not warm enough (unless there are continuous heat waves), so the growing window for corns is not so ideal. The local ones are only available for a very short period, and more come from Spain.

Consequently, people here are not so familiar with fresh corns. My husband never ate fresh corns before he met me and only bought the processed ones in cans.

 

[Phaedra]

How about sweet corn, is that a common vegetable in German gardens, Phaedra?

I understand that the British had some trouble developing an interest in corn for something other than cornmeal. It's understandable. I'm not sure if there were early-maturing varieties until the1930's.

Steve

Ah, I didn't see "in German gardens" - and then the answer is No, most people won't plant corns in their gardens. They are more used to tomatoes, herbs, salad greens, beans, apples, and berries.

 

[flowerbug]

i'll be making up some filling for stuffed green peppers in a bit and also going to be cooking up some taco meat for buritos, nachos or taco salad or something and also going to do some bbq chicken thighs. i don't really get in the mood too often for chicken and like the dark meat better than the breasts, but when Mom asked me what i was hungry for i remembered how she used to cut up a bunch of onions and make her own BBQ sauce and put them in the oven to bake for a while. today i'm just going to use the crock pot for those while the rest of things get cooked. perhaps by the time i get done cooking it will be warm enough outside and dry enough that i can get out for a few hours of gardening.

so onions, some garlic and the last of the green peppers will get used. i have a lot of tiny onions to use up so some of those will get used today too - they're much stronger than the larger sweet onions.

 

[ducks4you]

the last of the frozen squash from last year and some baked beans, that was yesterday, i think today i better cook up a few of the onions that aren't storing very well. onions and tomato soup it might be, we'll see...

I still have frozen pumpkin. I Thought you couldn't eat that after 5 months. How long have Yours been frozen?

 

[digitS']

Unlikely to be anything else ~ fresh ~ from the 2021 garden.



I would have liked to wait a little longer for these to all bolt so that the tender stems would be available. As it is, they did well to come through some hard frosts and take advantage of the warmer weather over a week +. May or may not freeze tomorrow morning but it will be a regular event from here on out. There will be some kale but it will be difficult to call it fresh when it might be coming into the kitchen frozen and dug out of the snow!

Steve