Vegetable Garden Update

The best place to find God is in a garden. You can dig for him there. – George Bernard Shaw

Green Towers romaine.

The sun’s starting to break through the morning haze. By all accounts another glorious day in the countryside of Nova Scotia. It’s 7:30am and already 16°C in the shade, although I have my doubts about the trustworthiness of our thermometer...

The garden going in May 12.

Great weather for growing vegetables though. We put in a small veggie garden May 12 of this year and a small extension of transplants two weeks later. Today I thought it was about time that I gave an overview about what’s been happening.

As it turns out, quite a lot.

We moved to the country to start a new life the first week of March. One of the things we promised ourselves was to grow some of our own vegetables. We don’t have a lot of land so we had to be a bit stingy on how much room we gave things to grow. Luckily we do have sun.

For the most part to seems that our amending of the soil with plenty of organic matter is working. We’ve got “action” on many fronts.

We planted a wide variety of vegetables that we hope will help us at least through to the fall. Some we’re harvesting now, some will be coming soon and others months later (or so we hope).

After 5 weeks. That's 35 days...

Remember, this is only after 5 weeks from seed in the ground. I hope it serves as inspiration for anyone with only a little land in the country, or urban gardeners who want to try their hand at a little self-sufficiency. You don't need a "back 40 acres" to do this.

The first harvest that we had was radish greens. yes you can eat them. They’re great for a salad and are a little peppery. They were followed by mesclun greens (a mix of different salad greens) and radishes themselves two weeks ago.

Our beans and peas are really starting to take off as are our tomatoes. Almost all the tomato plants are either blooming or will soon be. That’s good news as they like to ripen in the warm summer sun.

Spinach (from seed 3 weeks ago) is starting to show true leaves as are the carrots. We sowed two kinds, the normal orange variety and purple ones. Basil from seed is a little slow but we didn’t have all that great a first half of June (wet and cool) so perhaps they will start growing better now.

The corn is up and hopefully we’ll have a “feed” some time in August. “Feed” is the term my father used to use. Actually he used that to refer to harvest of all his veggies. I hope he is looking down on us and smiling. I gave him more frowns than smiles when he was alive. The stupidity of youth...

Something besides us has been enjoying the bok choy.

Squash, beets, eggplant and cucumbers seem to have hit a bit of a slow down. Not sure if it was the recent cool weather or of they’re setting roots. I hope it’s the latter. 

We set transplants of romaine lettuce and bok choy that seem to have settled in nicely. Green Towers romaine is starting to live up to its name. Interestingly they are only planted a few feet apart but it seems we are “sharing” the bok choy with the insects but not the romaine. Is it something we said?

The perennial herbs have settled in and we hope they will grace us with a return next year. I have trimmed back the Italian and curly parsley already to use in the kitchen. It seems they were “inspired” by my threat.

A lesson I did learn is to NOT buy basil plants early in the season. The cooler weather almost finished them off. Some are trying to come back from the base. That's why we planted seed. We want pesto!

One thing that doesn’t seem to be doing very well is the dill from seed. Not sure of we didn’t amend the soil enough, if they’re slow starters or if it’s just been the weather. Time will tell.

Something has been eating the haskap berries before we have had a chance to pick them. But that’s not too much of a disappointment. The bushes are small and we wouldn’t have had enough for “a feed” anyway!

We’re newbies to all of this. When I was growing up I never really paid attention to my dad and his gardening, even though he used to put one in every year.

Of course none of this includes the free bounty we have around us – those wild fruits and greens that go so unnoticed by most of us. One example is the rampant wild blueberries we have in our backyard. Another was the dandelions. They’re passed now. If you read up on wild edibles you will be surprised about what you find.

Beans at left and peas on the right.

If you are interested in growing some of your own food, it may not be too late. If you start with transplants – still available at garden centres – you probably have enough time. It all depends on how much of your growing season is left.

Just remember there’s some basics that vegetables need to reward you with a harvest: sun, water, warm temperatures, good soil and care. The only one you can’t control is the sun. The others are entirely up to you.

Here’s some growing times to maturity for some of the more common garden vegetables:

Beans (bush and pole) 60 days

Beets 40-70 days, depending on variety

Carrots 90 days

Corn 60-90 days

Cucumbers 60-90 days

Lettuce 70-90 days

Onion sets 50-60 days

Tomatoes are flowering. We have to do something about
those radishes!!

Peas 60 days

Radishes 3-10 weeks (they will bolt *go to flower* in warm temperatures)

Spinach 90 days

Squash (winter) 100 days

Tomatoes 120-160 days (buy transplants)

Remember, if you buy transplants you’re ahead of the game, so if you want tomatoes or squash or whatever if you can find them at a garden centre it’s worth a try. They’ve already been growing for at least a month or two.

We’re hoping for two things from our gardening foray: vegetables and experience. That way we’ll be better prepared for continued success in the future.

If our winter crops turn out I can see a post on how to build cold storage in the future. One must live in hope!

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Homemade Sweet Beef Sausage and a Thin Crust Pizza

People take pictures of the Summer, just in case someone thought they had missed it, and to proved that it really existed. – Ray Davies

It appears that today is going to a beautiful one again. Since it’s actually summer now – and there's no excuse for being outside – I thought it may be a good time to post something easy for the barbecue (or inside if you're reading this in foul weather). We don’t want to miss the "outdoor eating season," right?

Usually sausage is cured or preserved in some way, but it can be fresh, stuffed or unstuffed. This fresh sausage meat can be used various ways – on pizza, stuffed and twisted into links, shaped for patties, or as meat balls and simmered in sauce.

What inspired me was some steak that I had hanging around in the refrigerator. It was begging to be used.

Since I had more than enough for one meal I thought it might be a good idea to turn it into something... hopefully something more flavourful. To me that’s sausage. I wondered what sort of beef sausages were “out there.”

On the hunt for beef sausage

There’s some usual kinds, like chorizo, but not very many people would put a chorizo patty on a bun. Other recipes I found just didn’t strike the right note with me. So I sort of struck out on my own.

I really liked my hot Italian pork sausage I made a few weeks ago (recipe here), so I wondered what would happen if I made something similar with beef. Of course, not being able to leave well enough alone I modified my original recipe to turn these into a sweet beef sausage.

This would make interesting and exceptional burgers on the BBQ. Interestingly none of it made it to that. We used half on a pizza with mozzarella, oregano, onions, mushrooms, mesclun greens and the fantastic eggplant pasta sauce I posted two days ago (recipe here).

The remainder will be shaped into meatballs and pre-baked in the oven. That way they don’t fall apart when simmered in sauce.

Don't have a grinder?

You don’t *have* to grind your own meat. My steak had a fair amount of fat which made it perfect for sausage. If using ground beef use regular. Extra lean or lean tends to dry out – especially when barbecued.

You don’t have to own a grinder. I admit I was lazy with this. I used our food processor to “grind” the meat to the consistency I wanted. I think it may be cheaper to buy and grind, whatever method you use. It all depends on the cut. As soon as barbecue season arrives it seems hamburger prices rise. Strange...

But back to the pizza. I almost always make my own pizza crust. It’s so easy to do – even if you work all day. All you need to do is mix everything together and let rise for the time you’re at work. You don’t even proof the yeast.

This crust turned out exceptionally well. It’s a thin crust, but with “holes.” It was also crispy. I don’t really know what I did differently this time but whatever it was I documented it and share it with you now.

So today, two recipes for the price of one. I guess the “price you pay” is having to put up with my ramblings to get to the recipes!

It’s supposed to be a glorious all weekend on the Eastern seaboard and so far, so good. Mix this up and fire up the grill. Your guests will be in for a pleasant surprise.

I learned a while ago that if you cube your mozzarella it
allows any topping to cook rather than steam.

Homemade Sweet Italian Beef Sausage

Prep: 10 min  |  Yield: 6 large patties

1-1/2 pounds medium ground beef

1 tbsp brown sugar

1-1/2 tsp sea salt

3 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp dried garlic

1/2 tsp cayenne powder

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. 

If making “hamburger patties” you can shape and grill immediately. If making sausage, refrigerate overnight. 

The next day either stuff into casings or form into patties (or meatballs) and cook. I find the overnight rest allows the flavours to spread a little more.

Thin Crispy Crust

Prep: 10 min  |  Yield: 12 x 20 crust

2 cup unbleached flour

1 cup water

2 tsp yeast

1 tsp salt

Mix and let rise through the day or for a minimum of 3 hours. Punch down, spread out and let rise for another 1/2 hour. Bake with toppings for 25 minutes at 425°F.

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Rose & Lemon Thyme Syrup for Summer Drinks

What is the most beautiful in virile men is something feminine; what is most beautiful in feminine women is something masculine. – Susan Sontag

No the colour has not been altered. This is a "soda and rose" au naturel.

Girls – get out your fancy drinks glasses. Summer officially starts today. Here’s a recipe that you’ll just HAVE to make for all those patio parties.

Today's victim, rosa rugosa. Watch out for bees.

I shouldn’t generalize about what’s feminine and masculine like that. I suppose boys too, but probably less likely.

I’m drinking it, but I’m not what many would consider normal. I’m not afraid of pink things. In fact I’m wearing a hot pink polo right now – gasp!

And pink this syrup is. But besides being pink, it is also very floral, a little bit herbal and good.

It’s a simple syrup made from probably the most common rose in Nova Scotia besides wild roses – rosa rugosa. Those are the old fashioned ones that grow around many older homes. Very dependable, very aromatic and a very strong bloomer.

A common ingredient

I've made a few things from the petals before. We have three rugosa on our property and so does my mother. Two of ours are white and one is the classic magenta. I’ve made a few liqueurs from various roses before and posted on this blog. Search “rose.” 

This time I thought I would show you how to make a rose-infused syrup. So if you don’t agree with alcohol consumption, or if you're unable (like preggers), you can enjoy this too. Use your imagination – use this anywhere that you would another syrup.

The best time to pick rose petals is a couple hours after sunrise once the petals dry off from any dew. This is also the time when the bees and other beasties are working as well. 

About 4 cups, plus some sprigs of lemon thyme.

Watch out when you pick the petals. Memories of putting mud on childhood bee stings (an old method to take away the pain) came flooding back. Don’t know if it helps, but we used to do it.

It should go without saying, but never uses roses that have been sprayed with pesticide. This includes store-bought bouquets. They are edible, but even if you wash them you’ll never be certain all the pesticide is gone.

It’s a good idea to wash ones you pick too, just to get off any surface dirt and clear out any lurking creepy crawlies.

Easy as one, two thee...

To make this amazing syrup all you do is 1) combine the ingredients, 2) simmer and 3) strain. There’s a reason it’s called simple syrup. I added some lemon thyme sprigs to give it a bit of herbal edge. Rose can be somewhat “cloying.” So remember that when mixing up a drink, too.

This syrup would work wonders in rose martinis, or on any other cocktail that needs a floral punch. I believe later on it will get a workout with vodka and club soda.

Try it in a rose gin and tonic. I would use tonic water but I have an allergic reaction to quinine. Not nice to have anxiety attacks.

To test drive the syrup I added it to plain soda and ice. After all, it’s only 11am as I write... My gosh, this is pink. Unbelievably pink.

Mix together, gently boil for 15 minutes, and strain out the solids.

Yield is 2 cups of sweet, pink "gold."

Rose & Lemon Thyme Syrup

Prep: 5 min  |  Cook: 15 min  |  Yield: 2 cups

4 cups lightly packed rose petals, about 10 roses

1 tbsp fresh lemon thyme leaves

2 cups water

2 cups sugar

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 15 minutes, depending on thickness of syrup you want. 

Strain the syrup through a fine sieve, like a reusable metal coffee filter. Press the petals to release all the oils. Let cool and bottle.

Add to a martini or cocktail (shaken or stirred), or combine with soda and ice for a floral, herbal, refreshing summer drink.

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Questions? Comments? Derogatory remarks? Just ask! I’ll answer quickly and as best as I can. If you like this post feel free to share it. If you repost, please give me credit and a link back to this site.

Eggplant Pasta Sauce

I have drunken deep of joy, And I will taste no other wine tonight. – Percy Bysshe Shelley 

1L of amazing sauce.

Deep and joyful. That’s the flavour of eggplant-based pasta sauce. If you like the sound of that, read on.

This gave my tastebuds a little joy too. And I can imagine the occasional glass of wine with a bowl of pasta and parmesan tossed with this sauce only making it better. This is great substitution for tomato sauces and can be used in any of the usual ways.

Let cook for about 30 minutes before puréeing.

Eggplant is an interesting thing. People either love it or hate it. I find it’s a great vegetable, not only for its deep, almost smoky, taste, but also for its mega nutrition punch.

It’s also interesting because before the Middle Ages it was unknown in the western world. There are no Greek or Roman names for eggplant.

Eggplant has been cultivated since pre-history, but it is believed to have originated in Assam or Burma in India. There are many names for it in ancient Indian languages, making it obvious that it was cultivated a very long time ago.

Somehow it made its way to China, or the other way around. The two strains developed independently, which is why Chinese eggplant are long and skinny whereas ours are dark and fat. One of the oldest records mentioning eggplant is Chinese.

It is assumed that Moors brought the eggplant to Europe via Spain, where it began its march northward.

There’s a couple strange “myths” associated with eggplant. Spaniards called them beregenas (apples of love) because of supposed properties in the romance department. I have no idea how they were using them... 

At the same time some in northern Europe called them “mad apples” due to some strange idea that consumption would cause insanity. Did some poor soul on the verge eat some and then went over the edge by coincidence?

It wasn’t always a purple beast. Yellow and purple varieties were introduced into Germany from Italy in the mid 1500s. Within a century white, beige and brown varieties were also common –  including round, long, oblong and pear shaped fruits.

Today the most common is purple and pear shaped, but other sorts are making a comeback in garden centres and grocery stores. Even the growing season has been modified to accommodate our shorter growing season. Common time is 60 to 80 days.

We have some purple ones in our garden now. I have high hopes. 80 days takes us to the start of September. That’s plenty of time.

Eggplant is fantastic, either as a substitute for chicken in a parmigiana, in moussaka, grilled, in ratatouille or in this sauce. Even as a substitute for pizza sauce.

I would probably even thin this sauce (a little) with vodka or cream for a couple very interesting variations.

Give it a try. This one jar will give us three meals, I'm sure. And with very little work to make it, that’s a bonus!

Eggplant Pasta Sauce

Prep: 10 min  |  Cook: 45 min  |  Yield: 1L

2 tbsp olive oil

1 large eggplant

1 medium onion

3 garlic cloves

1 cup white wine

1 cup chopped tomato, or cherry tomatoes

1 red pepper, seeded and chopped

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cracked black pepper

Preheat the oil in a Dutch oven or other port with a well fitting lid.

Sauté the eggplant, onion and garlic until softened. Then add the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low, cover and let cook for 30 minutes.

At the end of the 30 minutes, uncover, turn the heat to medium and let cook until nearly dry but a little liquid remains. Purée the mixture with a blender or food processor until smooth.

Place in a clean jar, seal well and refrigerate.

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Questions? Comments? Derogatory remarks? Just ask! I’ll answer quickly and as best as I can. If you like this post feel free to share it. If you repost, please give me credit and a link back to this site.

Garden Surprises, Yucca and Opuntia

Expect nothing. Live frugally on surprise. – Alice Walker 

Doesn't seem to be much, until you realize what you're looking at.

Big time surprises here in the country, at least in our flower gardens. Two plants are going to bloom this year.

On the face of it that might not seem like much to be excited about. But when you realize what two plants are setting blooms – well, then you get excited. They are two that many don’t think could survive our winters.

This is a bud (I hope). We have several!

Cactus in Nova Scotia?

First up – an outdoor cactus. Opuntia humifusa, also known as Eastern Prickly Pear or Indian Fig, is a cactus found in most of eastern North America. 

Naturally it grows as far north as Massachusetts but according to the USDA it is hardy to Zone 6(ish). That means southern Ontario, parts of Québec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. And British Columbia of course.

This strange beast is composed of flat paddles that are covered with spines. These spines are composed of very fine hair-like stickers that can go into your skin quite easily. And they’re quite irritating. This is first-hand knowledge. 

New paddles grow out from the same spots as the spines on the edge, if conditions are right. I was told when we purchased them they were “iffy” and that they may never bloom for us. Apparently our conditions, and location, are right. We have buds set!

I’m looking forward to the flowers. They’re bright yellow , blooming from the edge of the paddles. They’re supposed to bloom late spring but since we’re setting buds right now I expect in perhaps a month we’ll have flowers. 

Photo: vikisuza, Flickr ccl

Sometimes the flowers have red centres. The individual blooms can be 2” wide. Small, yes – but it’s a cactus blooming in your yard!

If you’re really lucky (or have a longer growing season), the blooms will ripen into prickly pear fruit, which are edible. They start off green but turn a dark purple-red, with deep magenta coloured flesh. They’re also full of very tough seeds. Watch your teeth.

The architectural yucca

The second is an exotic that will not only last through our Nova Scotia winters but will increase if given the right conditions. It’s Yucca filamentosa, otherwise known as Adam’s Needle. 

The flower stock, starting to emerge – a a rapid rate.

Yucca are hardy perennials that have a range of USDA Zones 3 to 10. That’s pretty wide. Essentially that covers from the Florida Panhandle in the USA to most of the lower parts of Central Canada’s provinces and both Canadian coasts.

Yucca can grow between 12” in height to a glorious 5’ (60”) when their flower spikes are in full glory. They’re quite a sight and demand attention in the garden.

Some other common names for Yucca include Spanish Dagger and Spanish Bayonet. There are nine species and 24 subspecies of Yucca, and their distribution covers a wide area of Central and North America. Some yuccas are extremely exotic looking – nothing at all like Y. filamentosa. Yucca filamentosa is usually what is sold here in garden centres. You can even get variegated varieties. We have two, plus five of the green leaved ones.

For much of the growing season, yucca are a mass of architecturally interesting sword shaped leaves. They’re quite rigid and can be a bit sharp so watch small pets and children. The leaves are usually in the form of an upright clump emerging from the ground. This makes them a favourite in garden border designs. They’re very structural.

Last year's stocks

But then they do something a little unexpected. They flower, a lot. Yucca (can) flower from the middle of summer through autumn, when they carry masses of white 2”-3” hanging bells. These flowers, that can appear in the dozens, are borne on very rigid stalks that emerge from the centre of each plant. 

After many seasons of doing nothing but growing leaves, last year two of them bloomed. This year is seems to be a third one’s turn. If I understand their growth pattern correctly, the ones that bloom divide themselves the next year. The two that bloomed last year have now turned into four.

I believe it’s mostly my fault that I had to wait so long. I’m pretty certain I was a little unkind to them in both the soil and location choices. It makes a great difference. My yucca survived but did not “flourish” for quite some time.

If you’re looking for some “ooh and aah” plants for your garden borders, look no further than opuntia and yucca. You can find yucca at pretty much any garden centre. The cactus is a little harder to find. You can get then at the Village Nursery just outside Bridgewater.

That is where I’m heading later today. Since they’re apparently happy where we have them, I may as well get a couple more!

(I did get two more at $7.99, which I thought was very reasonable for the size. Hopefully they will be happy too.)

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You know, I really like comments... I really do.

Questions? Comments? Derogatory remarks? Just ask! I’ll answer quickly and as best as I can. If you like this post feel free to share it. If you repost, please give me credit and a link back to this site.

Mint Chocolate Avocado Pudding

A sudden bold and unexpected question doth many times surprise a man and lay him open. – Francis Bacon 

It tastes as good as it looks.

I’m late to the party on this one I believe. How many of you have heard of chocolate pudding made with avocado?

Don’t be too surprised if you haven’t. But now that I have secret chocolate avocado aficionados are coming out of the woodwork.

I didn’t hear about it until the other evening when a friend mentioned having it at a staff/retirement party. She said it was the best chocolate pudding she had ever had. It’s those type of statements that pique one’s interest. It did mine.

The lurking stranger. Photo: Wiki CC

The next day I went looking to see how to make this rare delight, mostly because I had avocado sitting on my counter that desperately needed to be used. 

I found recipes for chocolate avocado pudding everywhere. The basics were the same, recipe to recipe to recipe. The devil was in the details.

One person used an overripe banana to sweeten; another person used agave nectar.

Most used almond milk but some used coconut; others used cacao instead of chocolate, or melted chocolate. None used mint. I thought that was a severe oversight.

Just put everything in the blender...

Besides the avocado I happened to have just made almond milk. So it seemed writ large for me to make this. Unexpected question needing an answer, one might say.

So how does it taste? Like very rich, chocolatey, minty pudding. How does it look? The same way. Really, it does. You would be hard pressed to tell there was avocado in it.

We were gifted some garden mint by a good friend so that was the inspiration for my variation. If you’ve ever had fresh garden mint you’ll know it has a strong minty taste. It’s certainly not peppermint (which I think would also be good).

Hopefully this pudding will freshen my breath while I eat! It is vegan, but this ain’t no diet food.

First, it’s chocolate. Second, it’s avocado – a very fatty fruit. Third, it has a lot of honey. If you can get past that you’ve got it licked. I did some licking myself with this recipe: the spoon, the blender blades, my fingers, the bowl...

This is good stuff. I now have another reason to buy avocados when I see them on sale!

and purée. Scrape down the sides a couple times.

Mint Chocolate Avocado Pudding

Time: 15 minutes  |  Yield: 4 servings

2 ripe avocado, peeled and quartered
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup almond milk

1-1/2 tbsp fresh chopped mint
1 tsp extract of vanilla

pinch of salt

Place all ingredients in a blender. Pulse until the avocado is broken up, then purée until smooth.

Divide between 4 ramekins, decorate with mint sprigs and refrigerate until ready to serve.

That’s it. That’s all there is to it. Go get a spoon.

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You know, I really like comments... I really do.

Questions? Comments? Derogatory remarks? Just ask! I’ll answer quickly and as best as I can. If you like this post feel free to share it. If you repost, please give me credit and a link back to this site.