The Green Stuff is Growing!

This is our third year of doing seedlings and each year we have different problems.  This year’s problem is everything in the middle of the seedlings dries out and the seeds grow around the outside of the planter.  We’ll have to problem solve for next year.  Fortunately we still have enough to transplant and we should have a decent crop this year.  Though I was hoping for more tomato plants but we’ll see how that goes.

Celery can be tricky.   I have fussed with this for four years now.  The first year we bought seedlings and they did quite well.  The next year I did seedlings and more than half died as I planted them.  We got a few that were wonderful.  Last year we did much better but these little guys, until well established, will die if you look at them wrong.   I was hopeful this year as I planted more than half a tray but we ran into the middle of the tray drying out frequently.  I hope to have 12 to transplant.  Fingers crossed.  Because fresh celery in soups is fabulous!

Peppers are doing well for the most part.  We should have a bumper crop again this year.  We were overwhelmed last year but fortunately the community kitchen takes fresh produce and we could freeze some.  We have two sweet peppers and several hot peppers.  Great for hot pepper jelly!  Love that on cheddar.

Our green house is officially open now.  I think.  We thought so a few weeks ago then winter came back and we had to pull everything back in.  Can you believe these leeks can get to be 5 feet long?!?  The seeds are so tiny!

We’ve been lucky so far with the pak choi.  These were transplanted earlier and so far so good.  Though we may need to risk it and transplant again.  We’re on the fence.  I’ll be direct seeding soon as well.

This weekend is supposed to be gorgeous and definitely springlike next week so it is time to get a few veg in!  So excited. 

Delicious!

Our 12 year old daughter baked me an amazing flourless chocolate cake for my birthday. So good it could be served at a high end restaurant, I kid you not.

Bok Choi (Pak Choi)

We’re doing a small experiment this year. We’ve never grown bok choi before but we started eating it last year. Great on salads but I’d like to find recipes where we can cook with them as well.

When it’s warmer we’ll direct seed but for now here is our first transplanting.

First Frost of the Season

Where we live it can get brutally hot and bitter cold.  One year we had a range of -30 F (-34 C) to 110 F (43 C)!  It was a bit much.  So for the gardens we have to expect anything and everything.  Last week we had our first frost of the season and it got chilly, down to 24 F (-4 C).  Which meant we had to protect our tender veg that was still going strong.  And right now that is nearly half our garden.

It was time to tuck a few raised beds in.  When you do this you want to use breathable fabric so the plants get air but the frost doesn’t settle on the leaves and veg.  When the sun starts to hit the plants remove the sheets and blankets.

The plants we tucked in were peas, beans, peppers, and celery.  As it was quite windy we had to use clamps and lots of rocks.

The next morning was a very pretty morning.

We actually still had a few blossoms on our strawberries but the plants are still small so we weren’t overly concerned.

I love how the frost settles on the plants in different patterns. 

I was thrilled to see the peas did well.

We were pushing it a bit with the peppers but most of the plants came through.

And I was equally surprised the celery did ok!  Which is good because we have a lot of it and don’t want it to go to waste.

Alas the growing season is coming to an end.  Soon the frosts will be too frequent and the warm days will be behind us.  It’s been a wonderful summer for the food.

Pleasantly surprised to be nominated…….

I am new to blogging and I woke up this morning to find I have been nominated for the Wonderful Team Membership award.  Thank you Sheila for nominating me.  You never know what the effect of your blog is so this is appreciated.

To pay it forward my 14 nominations for this award are as follows:

Homemade with Mess – I really enjoy the creative recipes that she posts.

Cindy Knoke – Love her photos and stories about traveling.

Sarah the Gardener – I enjoy reading about her garden coming alive as ours is being put to bed.

Putney Farm – Anyone who posts how to make bacon is good in my book.  I mean, seriously. 

Tales of a Clyde Woman – Has some great recipes and home tips.  Also, she just had a trip to the northeast and had some fun posts about  her trip.

Paradise has mosquitoes – She is an expat living in Portugal.  A quirky blog.  I love quirky.

Cooking in Sens – Rosemary is an American who moved to France and is in the middle of moving to Germany.  She blogs about her experiences with food along the way.

Recipes Happen – Bonnie has a great blog about cooking and saving money while cooking.

Food & Foto – Not only does Audrey post about wonderful recipes but her photos are great.

Food, Photography & France – Great sense of humour and fab recipes to boot!

A High School Foodie – Russell is a teenager that is mature beyond his age.  He has posted some amazing recipes and experiences.

Kiran’s Cooking Club – Honest to goodness Indian food.  How can you go wrong with this?

My Little Italian Kitchen – An Italian living in the UK, she follows the same thought I do in that the slow food movement is a good thing.  And I love Italian food. 

PS I Love Soap – I’ve always wanted to make soap and this is a fabulous spot to go to for information.

And now for the guidelines I got from Sheila:

Guidelines for the Wonderful Team Member Readership Award are as follows:

1. The Nominee of the Wonderful Team member Readership Award shall display the logo on his/her blog.
2. The Nominee shall nominate 14 readers they appreciate over a period of 7 days, all at once or little by little.
3. The Nominee shall name his/her Wonderful Team Member Readership Award nominees on a post or on posts during
   7 day

I have to say I really enjoy the blogging world and connecting with people  around the world.  It has been a lot of fun and I am glad I jumped in and started doing it. 

Freezing Peppers

We planted a massive amount of pepper plants this year so we have quite the bumper crop.  I didn’t want the peppers to go to waste as the season winds down.  I did a bit of research this past month on the internet and found that you can just freeze them.  You can either freeze straight out of the garden or blanch them.  I choose the easy way. 

I picked a bunch, washed them, and patted them dry.  I chopped them up into the size I wanted and put on a cookie sheet.

I just love all the colours!  I pop them in the freezer for at least 24 hours.

I then vacuum seal in the portion sizes I need.  This vacuum sealer has paid for itself many times over and it is relatively easy to use.  Needless to say our freezer is getting full!

Homemade Pasta

About a half hour after Rich and I got engaged we decided where we wanted to go on our honeymoon.  Italy!  A place where the house wine rivals great wine stateside.  How could we resist?

One night in Tuscany we signed up for some cooking lessons.  It was just the two of us which was perfect!  One of the things we learned how to do is make pasta.  Turns out this is very easy, so much so, we rarely buy any pasta anymore.

We make a ring of flour using 100 grams.  Now when we learned this we were told this was for one serving.  It makes enough for at least two servings sometimes more depending on how thin you roll it out.  Place one egg in the center.  Use a fork to gradually add the flour to the egg.  As egg sizes aren’t standardized you may need to add a bit more flour if it is too wet.  If it is too dry just add a bit of olive oil at a time until it comes together.  Then knead a couple of times to bring it all together.  Wrap in cling film to rest.

Resting it for about a half hour is good but you can get away with just resting it for 10 minutes if you are in a hurry.  During this time I usually gather various ingredients needed for the sauce.  It has been too hot to make homemade tomato sauce so I used what we had in the fridge and added:

3 cloves of garlic freshly minced

1 small red Italian pepper

2 shiitake mushrooms

1/2 the chicken breast we had leftover from the chicken cordon bleu

1/3 cup of Malbec wine (was a good excuse to open a bottle!)

Saute all the ingredients together then add the sauce and wine to simmer.  Once this is cooking it is time to roll out the pasta.

Make sure the pasta is lightly floured so it doesn’t stick going through the rollers.  I roll at least to a thinness of 5 but will go thinner depending on what I’m making.

When doing pasta the first thing I set up is the water.  In Tuscany we learned to never put oil in the water, just sea salt or kosher salt.  It makes a huge difference.  I get the water up to the boil then turn if off until I’m ready.  That way it only takes a minute or so to bring back to the boil and I get things done on time.

It only takes about 4 minutes to cook.  I do stir occasionally to keep the pasta separate.  Once it is cooked I add it to the sauce and toss.  Then serve.

This meal is super easy to make and it takes about 30-40 minutes depending on the pasta.

Fruit Flies Ugh!

Happens every year.  No matter what you do they come.  The dreaded fruit flies.  What to do?  My husband showed me a great trick a few years ago.  And it works like a charm.

All you have to do is put some apple cider vinegar into a small bowl.  Stretch cling film over it and poke holes in it.  Make sure the holes are just big enough for them to get in.  They are attracted by the smell and then they drown in the cider.  It works quickly.  Just change as needed every couple of days until they are gone.