What are You Eating from the Garden?

[flowerbug]

@digitS' the return of colder weather is slated for here later this week, i'm imagining you may see it a bit before we do. i will also have to scout some squash from the garage and think about what to do with the ones that are going to be ready to eat. our storage space by the front door can handle a few for a week or two but that's about all i would trust them with, especially with us keeping it a little warmer in the house overall this winter.

 

[Alasgun]

We lifted these Beets Sept 18th and wondered at the time; How long do beet greens keep?
Well, refrigerated in perforated bags; we ate the last of those greens this evening!
last evening we ate the very last onions from 2022. And im certain we’ll make it into February eating Bathtub Cucumbers.

 

[digitS']

I'm having a Honeycrisp apple and leftover Johnny cakes for breakfast. They are little better this morning reheated in the microwave. This may be a result of my inexperience with cooking them and it may also indicate that they would be suitable frozen and reheated.

First, I prefer the name Johnny cakes as an Anglicized name from Shawnee cakes. You may want to call them hoe cakes and attempt cooking them in the garden with that tool but I don't think that it would compare well with the traditional cast-iron skillet .

I copied the recipe that uses pumpkin puree from an internet post years ago and pulled it out because there was over a cup of cooked squash leftover from those 4 pies.

Where I went a little wrong yesterday was taking the "hot skillet" recommendation as meaning to start with the heat just short of burning whatever grease, fat or oil that you have before dropping the spoonfuls of dough in for the cakes. The idea of cooking "about 5 minutes per side" was initially perplexing because I'm sure that a flour pancake would burn by that time. And, I moved the Johnny cakes out of the skillet before then, just using the indication of browning. The cakes were a little undercooked! Reheating slowly, under plastic wrap and then with a kitchen towel covering after they came out of the microwave resulted in finishing the cooking .

The cup of cooked squash is an important ingredient:

1 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup flour
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup honey
1 tablespoon baking powder
salt
1 egg
milk or cream

Mix dry ingredients. Add egg, honey, pumpkin, and enough milk to form a medium thick batter.

Drop by the spoonful onto a  hot very warm skillet or griddle. Cook, turning once, about 5 minutes per side.

Steve

 

[digitS']

Kale for dinner … It’s time to start making use of “what is there” in the way of garden veggies. Otherwise, it’s frozen or purchased.

The fingers crossed for some nice, big Gai Lan didn’t help. Mild out-of-season weather (coldest 19°f, -7°C) so far but the Gai Lan looked bad as soon as daily freezing began. They are all but dead, now. Not So, for the Scotch Kale - of course. The one that has surprised me for several years now are the Collards. There are mustard greens in a greenhouse bed and the mild temps have allowed the lettuce in there to continue. I don't intend to heat or even cover that little bed so the lettuce may not make it far into the Winter. The mustard should be just fine.

And, kale. We have quite a few plants, even in the flower beds.

Steve

 

[SPedigrees]

I used the very last of my summer's produce (summer squash and green beans) to add to chicken and turkey soup. Other ingredients (all organic but not from my own garden) were carrots, an onion, celery, fresh rosemary and various dried herbs, and meat and bones from pasture-raised chickens and turkeys.

Considering how we used to put up a freezer-full of homegrown vegetables to last all winter, this is a pitiful showing, but some is better than none! The soup is wonderful for me, a tired old person hungering for comfort food, especially with the end nearing the thawed out Thanksgiving food that has been nourishing myself and the dogs for the better part of this week.

 

[digitS']

i also made soup, today. Let's see ... the celeriac and carrots were from the 2023 garden. Oh, and lemon grass – with chicken, rice & salt/pepper. (i'm too olde to use a recipe for soup !)

digitS'

 

[SPedigrees]

View attachment 63015

i also made soup, today. Let's see ... the celeriac and carrots were from the 2023 garden. Oh, and lemon grass – with chicken, rice & salt/pepper. (i'm too olde to use a recipe for soup !)

digitS' View attachment 63021

Don't knock witchcraft, especially if it works!

 

[Branching Out]

This morning I had a bagel with cream cheese, Scottish smoked salmon, and dill. The dill is growing under lights in the basement.

 

[ducks4you]

@branching up, give me your indoor growing dill instructions. I am TRYING to get herbs going inside this winter, but I have never grown dill outside, so I am, truly a newbie,

 

[ducks4you]

@SPedigrees and @digitS' , maybe you should start a Soup Thread.
I am not a soup maker, but I have been pressure canning meat broth like a crazy person, the very stock that makes wonderful soup!
I have the following in my basement pantry:
beef broth
chicken broth
turkey broth
lamb broth
duck broth
vegetable broth