Garden Planning - Step 1 - Knowing What You Eat

I've mentioned before that I bought a neat-o perpetual garden planner download from Northwest Edible Life, and have all intentions of using it this year, but our printer pooped out last week.  Until I can find a replacement printer for cheap or find time to take the file to be printed out at a printer-outer shop, I'm stuck with old-school pencil and paper.

I had to do a little research to remember, but I've determined that this will be our fifth season in the garden.  In the past, we've grown a little of this, a little of that, and whatever sounded interesting.  It's a fun way to garden, and a great way to learn what you like, don't like, can grow well, or can't grow at all.

This year, though, we're approaching gardening a little differently.  There will still be plenty of variety and a bit of novelty, but we're really going to focus on growing what we eat most.

With that in mind, the first step in this year's plan was to write down everything I could think of that we eat that is plant-based.  From tomatoes to dry beans to rice to tea to pineapple.  I used a seed catalog or two to help me remember everything and I wrote down things I know we can't grow simply because they might jog my memory about things we can grow here.

Then I went through and crossed off anything that we can't grow in our area (things like citrus, tropicals, coffee) and anything we don't have room to grow (grains, mostly) and things I'm just not ready to try yet (grapes, mushrooms).

Once that was done, I considered our family demand.  How often do we eat these foods?

There are several vegetables, fruits, and berries that we eat often and grow well for us.  Because these are on our menu several times a week all year round, these will be the biggest money-savers and nutrition-givers.  They will stay on the list.  Frequently-used herbs also stay at the top of the list.  For some reason I'm not very successfully at growing herbs, but if I can get successful, then cha-ching!  Big savings!

Several crops will grow well for us, but we don't eat them as often.  They'll be planted if we can work them in, or dropped without regret if we can't. 

Some foods are better for us to purchase, either because we don't eat that much of them, we have tried growing them before with little or no luck, we know they won't grow here at all (coconuts, anyone?), or we don't have room to grow them even though they will grow here (wheat is good example).  Unless we just want to try a couple of these crops for the fun of it, they won't make the cut.

The end result should be a fairly accurate list (below) of what we'll be planting this year.  Your list will vary depending on your appetite, gardening zone, skill level and space limitations.


Already-Established Perennials:
Asparagus
Rhubarb
Strawberries
Blackberries
Elderberries
Raspberries
Sunchokes

Definitely Will Plant:
Green beans
Lettuce, variety
Onions, bulbing
Garlic
Tomatoes
Potatoes
Dry beans
Carrots
Beets
Zucchini or other summer squashes
Onions, green (scallions)
Spinach
Swiss chard
Bell peppers
Cucumbers
Radishes
Cilantro
Parsley
Basil
Thyme
Oregano
Cumin

Will Plant If It Works Out:
Sweet Corn
Peas (shell-out and snow varieties)
Kohlrabi
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Celery
Eggplant
Cabbage
Napa cabbage
Collard greens
Jalapeno peppers
Winter squash (butternut, acorn)
Ground cherries
Watermelon
Okra
Sunflowers
Ginger
Summer savory
Sesame (for seeds)
Gooseberry bush(es)
Peach tree(s)

Be prepared.  Next week, we start talking numbers.

Apples In Jars

Two bags of apples go a long way.

Last weekend, we were fortunate enough to pick some free apples.  I'm not sure of the quantity; we didn't weight them and we gave some away, but by the time I started working them up, there were still enough to fill most of a large insulated frozen food bag and about half of a typical reusable shopping bag:

Two kinds of apple - Granny Smith and perhaps Gala?

I started by washing the apples in water with a splash of vinegar, then giving them a quick rinse in plain water.  I bought and used one of those table mounted gadgets that peel, core and slice them all in one go.  That worked for a while, but I began having trouble with the coring part of the gadget, so I just peeled the rest and cored and sliced them by hand.

I wanted to can pie filling, but without Clear Jel starch (and no quick way to get any since it's not sold in typical stores), I decided instead to can apple slices in a spiced light syrup.  I ended up with 13 quarts, which I'll just thicken whenever I want to make a pie.

Sliced and spiced.

The mound of apple peelings and cores was huge and I hated to see it all go to waste, so I decided to use about half of it to make apple jelly, and compost the rest.  I took the portion I saved and put them in my largest stockpot and added just enough water to cover them.  I also added a half a bag of frozen cranberries, a few cinnamon sticks and some whole cloves for color and additional flavor.  I simmered it all for about half an hour in the evening, then turned off the heat, covered the pan and let it all sit overnight.

The next morning, I strained off 10 cups of juice and made cran-apple jelly, ending up with 16 half-pint jars of pretty pink jelly. 

Blush pink cran-apple jelly.

Although I hadn't really planned on making anything other than jelly, I  decided to pressed all of the cooked peels and cores through a food mill.  In the end, I measured 9-10 cups of what was essentially unsweetened applesauce.  We already have a large supply of applesauce on hand, so I decided to make apple butter instead.  The pulp was already very thick, so all I needed to do was add sugar and spices and heat it all to a boil.  The final yield was 14 half-pint jars of cran-apple butter.

Not as dark as commercial apple butter, but it tastes better.

I'm glad that I only kept half of the peelings to make spreads, because we'd be up to our ears in the stuff if I'd cooked them all down.  As it is, the jelly and apple butter will last us a very long time.

Besides, I'm out of half-pint jars now.

Monday Miscellanea

We headed north on Saturday morning, dropping Kat off at her mom's and then checking out the Basswood Resort near Platte City, MO, to see if we might like to spend a weekend camping there. 

Platte City was also holding city wide garage sales, where we scored some good cheap and free stuff.  I found lots of tops for myself for 25¢ and 50¢ each.  When you're as messy as I am in the kitchen, you don't want to spend much on tops that will inevitable get grease spots on them.

Someone had an EdenPURE heater in the free pile with a note that says it "works, but heats slowly".  We grabbed that right up.  It may be just that they didn't understand how an infrared heater works, or it may need new elements.  If we have to replace elements, at $80-$100 it's still a bargain for this kind of heater. 

We drove by one home where several people were picking apples from their trees.  We pulled over and asked if they were selling their apples.  They told us they'd already picked and canned all they wanted and that we were welcome to pick as many as we wanted for free!  We picked about a bushel, but could have picked many, many, many more if we could have reached them.  They are very nice apples, both Granny Smith and a blush type, perhaps Gala.  We gave some away, we'll eat some out of hand, and I'll can the rest as pie filling.  I might make cider vinegar with the peels, too.

We didn't come close to seeing all the garage sales, but we had a late lunch date with Kat, my daughter T. and my son-in-law M.  My daughter's birthday was on Labor Day, so this was a celebration of sorts.  T and M follow a vegan diet, so they chose Cafe Gratitude.  (They have a really neat concept; click through to read about it.)  Cafe Gratitude serves a vegan and mostly gluten-free menu that focuses on local and organic foods.  They make the most amazing homemade ginger ale and a wonderful coconut milk, almond butter and vanilla smoothie.  The food was very good -- and filling -- the atmosphere was fun, and place was busy but not overcrowded at that time of day.  We all had a great time.

M, T, and Kat.

Shane and me.  Our table was in what used to be a storefront display window.

My hand-rolled veggie tamale with black beans and Mexican coleslaw.

M's "nachos" made with cashew "cheese and sprouted grain crackers.

We also saw this from the restaurant window.  I have no explanation. I don't even have a logical guess.

Saturday afternoon my dad visited and spent the night.  It wasn't really a planned visit; he was in town for other reasons and needed a place to sleep, and left fairly early on Sunday morning to do his own thing. 

We stayed home on Sunday and did this and that around the house:  laundry, a fall planting of lettuce and radishes, housework, etc.  We had no real plan, we just looked around and did things that needed to be done.

This week promises to be busy.  I still have those peaches in the freezer to work up, and now apples.  Kat gets out of school early on Thursday, and we have a fun weekend with my sister next weekend to get ready for. 

How was your weekend?  And what do you have lined up for this week?

Kat's Watermelon

Here is a watermelon that came from Kat's garden.  It's a medium-sized (11 pound) melon.  The variety is Moon and Stars, although this one only had stars on it's rind.  Some have larger yellow spots (moons).

We took this melon camping with us, but ended up not eating it until we came back home Sunday night. 

Mmm...it was really sweet and flavorful.

Blender Ketchup

Today's tomato-y condiment is Blender Ketchup, and the recipe comes straight out of "The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving" by Ellie Topp and Margaret Howard.  (Thanks to Paula, The Cookbook Junkie, for sending this book to me).

If you are looking for a copycat recipe for Heinz' or Hunt's, you might be disappointed with this one. But if you are looking for a fresher, lighter tasting ketchup (think spiced thick tomato sauce), then this is your recipe.  I'm looking forward to trying this on a burger soon.

Blender Ketchup

7 cups chopped peeled plum tomatoes (about 4 pounds) I used a variety of tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped sweet red bell pepper
2/3 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons pickling salt
1 cinnamon stick, 2 inches long
1/2 teaspoon whole allspice
1/2 teaspoon whole cloves
1/2 teaspoon peppercorns
1 bay leaf

Combine tomatoes, onion and red pepper in a  blender or food processor and process until smooth.  remove to a large stainless steel or enamel saucepan.  Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat and boil gently, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

Add vinegar, sugar and salt.  Tie cinnamon, allspice, cloves, peppercorns and bay leaf in cheesecloth and add to saucepan.  Return to a boil and boil gently, uncovered, stirring frequently, until volume is reduced by half or until mixture rounds up on a spoon without separation, about 1-1/2 hours.  Remove cheesecloth bag.

Ladle hot ketchup into hot 8-ounce jars to within 1/2 inch of rim.  Process 15 minutes as directed in this book, or per the Ball Blue Book or your local extension office.

Makes about 3 cups ketchup (it made almost 4 cups for me).

Tomato-Lemon Marmalade

We don't eat a lot of jams, jellies, preserves or marmalades around here, but the idea of making one with tomatoes struck my fancy.  I used a couple of very similar tried and true recipes and came up with this small batch, which makes eight 4 oz. jars or four 8 oz. jars.

Tomato-Lemon Marmalade

2-1/2 to 3 pounds tomatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
3 medium lemons, cut into thin slices, then slices cut into quarters
1/2-inch chunk of fresh ginger, peeled and cut into slices
1 Tablespoon pickling spices
4 cups granulated sugar

Combine tomatoes and lemon slices in a large stainless steel or enamel pan. 

Tie ginger and pickling spices in a piece of cheesecloth or use a spice bag, then add the bag to the tomato mixture.  Bring to a boil.

Add sugar gradually, stirring until completely dissolved.  Bring to a boil and boil rapidly until mixture forms a gel*, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, prepare water bath canner for canning.  Also prepare 4- or 8-ounce jars, lids and rings for canning.  Use standard preparations per the Ball Blue Book or your county extension office.

When canner is ready and marmalade has jelled, ladle hot marmalade into hot prepared jars.  Process in water bath canner for 10 minutes.



*There are two ways to test for gel.  For the first, place two small plates in the freezer when you begin cooking the sweet spread.  As the spread nears the end of cooking time, put a spoonful of the hot spread on one of the chilled plates and remove the spread from the heat source.  Return it to the freezer for a couple of minutes.  If the mixture is sufficiently cooked, it will form a slow-moving gel that drips across the plate when the plate is tilted.  If the gel runs quickly, continue to cook the spread for an additional two minutes and repeat the test.

For the second test, dip a metal spoon into the spread and lift it up.  If the spread "sheets" off the spoon rather than dripping quickly, it is ready to ladle into jars.  If it drips quickly, continue cooking.

Lacto-Fermented Salsa - Two Ways

Our tomatoes are finally coming in, so this week I'll be focusing on a variety of tomato-y condiments.  Here are a couple of different flavors of lacto-fermented salsa.  Keep in mind that L-F salsa is preserved with salt or a salty brine --it's what makes lacto-fermentation work -- so it will taste saltier than many other salsas.  You can offset that by serving it with low-sodium tortilla chips and/or reducing the salt in the Mexican or Tex-Mex dishes that you'll be topping with the salsa.

If you have more salsa than will easily fit into your jars, it can be eaten the day you make it.  However, the flavors will blend and mellow the longer it is stored.

Annie's Basic Lacto-Fermented Tomato Salsa

4 cups of diced tomatoes (no need to peel)
1/2 cup diced onion
1/4 cup diced green bell pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 Tablespoons whey
2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 Tablespoon sea salt
2 teaspoons finely chopped cilantro (optional)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Finely diced jalapeno pepper - to taste

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.  Adjust amount of jalapeno and/or spices to taste.  Ladle into clean wide mouth pint canning jars.  Press vegetables down so they are under the liquid and/or use a glass weight to weigh them down.  Seal tightly with canning lid and ring.  Set on countertop at room temperature for 2-3 days, or until brine is bubbly and salsa tastes tart.  Remove weights and reseal with lids; place in refrigerator until ready to eat.  Will keep in fridge for up to a few months.  Makes about 5 cups of salsa.

Annie's Basic Lacto-Fermented Strawberry-Kiwi Salsa

3 cups of diced tomatoes (no need to peel)
1 cup of chopped strawberries and peel, diced kiwi (any amounts to total 1 cup)
1/2 cup diced onion
1/4 cup diced green bell pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 Tablespoons whey
2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 Tablespoons sugar (optional)
1 Tablespoon sea salt
2 teaspoons finely chopped cilantro (optional)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Finely diced jalapeno pepper - to taste

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.  Adjust amount of jalapeno and/or spices to taste.  Ladle into clean wide mouth pint canning jars.  Press vegetables down so they are under the liquid and/or use a glass weight to weigh them down.  Seal tightly with canning lid and ring.  Set on countertop at room temperature for 2-3 days, or until brine is bubbly and salsa tastes tart.  Remove weights and reseal with lids; place in refrigerator until ready to eat.  Will keep in fridge for up to a few months. Makes about 6 cups of salsa.

Two Strawberry-Rhubarb Non-Recipes

Here are couple of ideas for using the strawberries and rhubarb that may be in season in your garden right now (they are in ours).  They aren't really recipes, since I didn't bother to measure anything.  Basically, combine the fruit and/or juices, then sweeten to your taste.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Syrup

Wash and chop some fresh rhubarb and fresh strawberries and toss them into a pan.  Add about 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup sugar.  Bring mixture to a boil, then cook over medium heat until the berries and rhubarb start to break down.  Being careful not to burn your tongue, taste the mixture and add sugar as necessary.  It will probably take quite a lot.  You can use white sugar, cane juice crystals, Sucanat -- whatever you like.  Continue to cook until mixture thickens slightly.  Pour into canning jars and screw down lids.  Syrup can be used in smoothies, in lemonade or cocktails, on top of ice cream or other desserts, on pancakes or waffles, as a thin spread on biscuits or toast, or just licked off a spoon.  Store in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks or until gone, which will probably be in about two days.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Lemonade

In a 2-quart pitcher, combine about a cup of fresh lemon juice with about a half-cup of strawberry-rhubarb syrup.  Add about 3 cups of water or as much as needed to dilute the lemon-juice to your liking.  Stir in simple syrup until it is as sweet as you like it.  No simple syrup?  Try this recipe with the sugar of your choice.  IMO, it's the only way to sweeten lemonade easily.  If the syrup is too chunky from the strawberries or stringy from the rhubarb, run it all through the blender for a minute, with or without a shot of something boozy added.  Pour over ice and enjoy!

Free Compostable Seed Starter Cups from Citrus

We all know about compost, and how letting food scraps break down can help feed our gardens.  Well, here's another way food can help grow more food.

My friend Sharon passed this on to me via Pinterest several weeks ago.  Isn't it great? 

We ate several oranges and grapefruits in January, carefully cutting them in half across their "equator" and scooping the fruit out.  We let the rinds dry, since we knew we'd not be using them for a little while, then stored them in a glass jar with the lid kept off.

When it's time to use them, just fill the dried cups with potting mix and sow away.  When you water the cups, the rinds rehydrate and smell really good.

Alternately, you could rehydrate them first by soaking them in water for half an hour or so.  They'll be more flexible for handling while filling them.  Whichever way you choose is fine.

When you're ready to plant out, you can try planting the entire thing, rind an all right into the soil.  However, because we've had trouble with commercial peat pots breaking down quickly enough when we've planted them, and because not all plants need acidic food, we suggest removing your seedlings and surrounding soil from the citrus cup.   Plant the seedling and toss the cup in the compost bin.|


This post is being shared at the Hearth and Soul Hop with Premeditated Leftovers.

Fruit Salad. Yummy, Yummy!

Yeah, I watched The Wiggles too many times when Kat was little.  Anyway, here is a really quick fruit salad that's totally adaptable to what you like and what you have on hand.  You could also top this with toasted coconut or chopped nuts.  BTW, it's loosely based on a recipe in the book Healthy Snacks for Kids that I reviewed yesterday.


Yogurt Fruit Salad
(based on a recipe in Healthy Snacks for Kids)


Dressing:
1/2 cup Greek-style plain yogurt
2 T. honey (preferably raw and local)
1/2 t. vanilla extract

Fruit:
1 banana, sliced
about a dozen red seedless grapes, halved
1 clementine, peeled and sectioned

--OR--

about 2 cups of whatever fresh, canned or thawed-from-frozen fruit you have on hand


Combine the dressing ingredients until well blended.  Combine fruit, then pour dressing over.  Toss to coat.  Chill before serving.

Makes 4 servings.

This post was submitted to the Hearth and Soul Hop for 2/14 at Premeditated Leftovers.

And the Delicious Dish Tuesday Hop with Full Time Mama.