Seed School, Part II

Seed saving is a tradition as old as civilization. It can even be argued that seed saving is in many ways responsible for civilization. The first European settlers to the Americas arrived with seeds in their pockets and the Native Americans were already growing and saving seeds here long before their arrival. There are stories of our founding fathers campaigning with seed packets bearing their faces at a time in our country when everyone saved and shared their seeds. There were no glossy seed magazines to order from, the seed industry as we know it was not yet born. If you grew food, you also grew, saved, and swapped seeds. We've nearly lost this cultural connection and have largely relegated this task to large-scale, industrial farming outfits and the biotech industry. We're too busy with more important things, right? Here is a snapshot of what that is costing us, taken from Bill McDorman's Basic Seed Saving:

"Much of the worlds agricultural genetic diversity took humankind 10,000 years to create. We may lose most of it in one generation. As late as 1900, food for the planet's hungry was provided by as many as 1,500 different plants, each further represented by thousands of different cultivated varieties. Today over 90% of the world's nutrition is provided by 30 different plants and only four (wheat, rice, corn, and soybeans) provide 75% of the calories consumed by man."



Reclaiming and sustaining our rich genetic heritage begins with learning to save seeds. I learned that it doesn't take a masters degree in genetics to do so. In fact, humans have been selecting seeds for edible crops for more than 10,000 years. Long before Gregor Mendel came along to teach us why it all works the way it does. Seeds, themselves, are 600 million years old and food plants are not natural in the sense that they spontaneously occur in nature. For example, all carrots originally came from Queen Anne's lace, all plants in the Brassica family (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, etc.) originated from the wild mustard plant, all corn originated as a grass called teosinte, and so on. Humans selected and saved seeds from the most desirable plants over thousands of years to bring us to the fruits and vegetables that we recognize and sustain ourselves with today. This method of basic plant breeding is known as recurrent mass selection.

GROWING AND HARVESTING

So where do we begin? Bill McDorman is the Executive Director of Native Seeds and was one of the brilliant instructors and facilitators of Seed School.  His book, Basic Seed Saving suggests that we begin with crops like beans, lettuce, peas, and tomatoes. These crops give us beginners the best chance of success for the following reasons: they are annuals, so they produce seed the same season as they are planted, and they are self-pollinating, which minimizes the need to isolate them to prevent cross-pollination. Plants that are not self-pollinating, like corn, spinach, carrots, Brassicas, etc.,  require a more controlled isolation zone to prevent cross-pollination. Their space requirements and methods of controlling cross-pollination are discussed in McDorman's book and in more thorough detail in a few references that I'll list at the end of this post. But for today, I'll stick to those for beginners. The first thing to consider is planting space.  Plants grown for seed do need a bit more space than those grown for consumption. A good rule of thumb is to double the spacing suggestion on the back of your seed packet if you are planing to grow for seed. Also keep in mind that seed crops need to be planted early enough in the season that they will have an opportunity to fully mature to their seed producing stage. As they are growing, you can select and rogue. Selecting means keeping the ones that seem hearty and viable, and roguing means pulling out the ones that don't seem desirable to keep for seed stock.

Lettuce grown for seed can be planted in the same bed with lettuce that you intend to eat. Just make sure if you are growing multiple varieties that will flower at the same time, you will want to space them at least 20 feet apart to prevent cross-pollination. If you don't mind a little variation in your final seed population, then don't worry about that step at all. Then, as your lettuce seeds sprout and grow, you can thin the rows and eat those as micro salad greens. As the remaining ones grow into fuller heads of lettuce, you can select and rogue again based on which plants are showing the characteristics you desire. The heads you rogue can then become dinner salads. Finally, you are left with the plants that you wish to grow to full seed maturity. Lettuce produces perfect, self-pollinating flowers. A perfect flower has both the stamens that produce pollen and the pistil, which receives pollen. It has everything it needs to self-pollinate, and will often do so before the flower even opens. Each flower on lettuce plant then produces one seed and the flowers are grouped into clumps of 10-25 flowers. Individual heads will ripen at different times, so rather than try to harvest large amounts of seed at once, you can wait until half of the flowers on one plant have gone to seed, cut the entire top off that plant, and allow it to dry upside down in an open paper bag for 2-3 weeks. Once they are dry, you can shake and rub the flower heads to remove any remaining seeds.



Peas and beans also contain perfect, self-pollinating flowers and they rarely cross-pollinate. They simply need to be left on the vine for their seeds to mature. Peas should remain for about 4 weeks past their eating stage, and beans for 6 weeks after their ideal eating stage. If a frost threatens, pull up the whole plant by the roots and hang it in a cool, dry place until the pods are brown. When they are fully dried, the seeds can be shelled out by hand, or for larger amounts, you can flail them. Flailing is the process of crushing seed pods in order to free the seeds. This can be done by hand, with flailing tools, or by a fun field method described in class. It begins by laying out a large tarp, laying a piece of plywood over the tarp, covering the plywood with a piece of chicken wire, then topping it all with the dried vines and pods. Grab a few friends and stomp the vines and pods thoroughly. Then, peel back the chicken wire like the page of a book, pulling all the vines and leaves off the top and leaving behind the seeds that have hopefully fallen through to the plywood below the layer of chicken wire. The tarp is there to catch any that try to roll away. This is not a perfect method, and the seeds will still need to be cleaned further, but it allows you to get rid of most of the messy vines and leaves before leaving the field.

Tomatoes are another great beginner seed to save. Most modern varieties only require about 10 feet of separation, but heirloom varieties will need significantly more space to ensure purity. Tomatoes, like beans, peas, and lettuce, are also self-pollinators, or "selfers" with perfect flowers. When growing tomatoes for seed, allow them to completely ripen on the vine before harvesting. If a frost threatens, you can bring them in to a cool, dry location to continue ripening. When they are ripe, simply cut them on the equator and gently squeeze out the seeds into a jar. The remaining flesh can be frozen, canned, dehydrated, or used in a tomato-based soup or stew.

Selecting seed from a number of plants is important to ensure you are collecting a genetically diverse sampling of seed from that particular type of plant. McDorman's book offers suggestions on how many plants to collect seed from to have good volume and increase your chances of having strong, viable seed. Always plant about a third more than you will need. You will be roguing out the less desirable ones, you will have some seeds that will inevitably not sprout, and once the seeds are harvested, you may need to discard any that are off-color or look unhealthy, so planting more than you need gives you a comfortable cushion.


PROCESSING

Once seeds are harvested, they are either dry-processed or wet-processed. Dry-processing means that the seeds are flailed, threshed, and winnowed. We already discussed flailing as the process of freeing the seeds from their pods. Threshing, then, is the process of separating the seeds from chaff. Chaff is made up of the tiny remnants of the seed pods or coverings. Winnowing is a method of removing the chaff, which uses wind (or a box fan, or your breath) to separate the lightweight chaff from the heavier seed. Flailing, threshing, and winnowing are all methods that can be done by hand and with minimal equipment, depending on the scale of your operation. You can purchase sieves, like the ones pictured below that are used by the folks at the Nasami Farm and Native Plant Nursery, or you can buy screens of varying gauges, or graduated stainless steel hardware cloth and make them yourself. Select a screen with an opening large enough to let the seeds fall through, while preventing the chaff from falling through. Never let lack of equipment get in your way. Be creative and use what you have on hand. Your equipment can be as low tech as an old window screen, or a three sided cardboard soda flat for winnowing and you can still have great success.

Some seeds, like squash or berries, require a wet method of processing. For squash, its as simple as
harvesting the mature seeds from your squash, placing them in a cup of water, pouring off the water and refilling several times, until you are left with clean squash seeds. Keep in mind that squash seeds are not often fully mature until the squash has nearly gone to mush. Leave them for several weeks past when you would normally harvest them for food. Then, harvest them, scoop out the seeds, wet-process them, and lay them out to dry. Once dried they may have a papery coating of chaff, which can be winnowed away. For berries, they may need to be crushed first. At Nasami, they crush the berries by hand or with a tool first, then pulse them with an immersion blender with a blade attachment that helps shake loose the seeds without damaging them. Then the remaining seeds and pulp are water winnowed by the same method described for the squash seeds. Generally, the good seeds will sink to the bottom and the rest will float to the top, so that each time you fill your cup and pour it off, you are left with cleaner seeds on bottom and clearer water until you can pour the final product through a strainer and all that remains is your seed.

Tomatoes are a simple seed to save, but require a unique process of fermentation to remove a gelatinous sac that surrounds each seed. This sac surrounding the seeds is important to prevent tomato seeds from germinating inside the warm, moist environment where they live. To harvest tomato seeds, cut the ripe fruit on the equator and scoop the seeds out into a jar. If the seeds in the jar aren't floating around in enough liquid, add a little non-chlorinated water. Place them uncovered in a window sill for a few days, until they have begun to grow a nice layer of fungus. This fungus eats the gelatinous coating and also produces natural antibiotics that help control seed-borne diseases like bacterial spot, canker, and speck. After three days, fill the jar with water and water-winnow the seeds using the same process described for berries and squash seeds. Each time you fill the jar, the viable seeds will settle to the bottom while the pulp and immature seeds float to the top, where they can easily be poured off. Once you have clear water with clean seeds at the bottom, pour through a strainer and lay them out to dry.

STORAGE

Once you have processed your seeds, you will need to consider how to store them. First, be sure that they are adequately dried. You can test this by trying to snap one in half. If it bends instead of snapping in two, it is still too wet. Another way to check is by inserting a fingernail into the seed. If your fingernail sinks in and leaves an impression, the seed may still be too moist. Seeds can be dried on screens, on paper bags, or on paint strainer bags. Paper towels are not ideal, since the seeds can sometimes get stuck to them. Most seeds require a cool, dark, dry place to be stored. Put them into plastic or muslin bags and label them clearly. Then, place the bags into air-tight glass jars. Canning jars work well. Keep in mind that the bags alone do not protect them sufficiently from moisture. Placing the jars in the refrigerator or freezer will work well, if you don't have another temperature, light, and humidity controlled environment. When you are ready to defrost, refrain from opening the jars until they have sufficiently warmed to room temperature. This will prevent condensation from accumulating on the walls of the jar and wetting your seed.

If you don't want to store them in the fridge or freezer, keep in mind that most seeds need to remain below 50 degrees. Absolute darkness is best, but storage is adequate if direct sunlight or bright artificial light is avoided. Humidity should be below 9% moisture. A handy rule of thumb offered by Rowen of the Sierra Seed Cooperative is that temperature and humidity, when added together, should total less than 100. She also suggested placing a desiccant pack, like silica gel, in the jar with your seeds to keep them dry. Some seeds, like those from tomato and squash, can remain viable for 10 years if stored properly. This is good news for a small grower like myself that may not have the physical garden space be able to generate enough seed in one growing season. I can save the seeds from my best 4 or 5 squash plants, store them well, then do the same the following year, I will begin to accumulate a decent and diverse stock of that particular seed.

The importance of good record keeping was stressed over and over throughout seed school. Keep a notebook on hand to record important information throughout your growing, harvesting, and storage process. Make notes about which varieties succeeded, which ones did well during inclement weather, which ones resisted bolting, or resisted disease. Note the number of days it took for a plant to flower and produce seed, note your successes and failures in harvesting and cleaning the seed. Which gauge screen worked well, which speed your box fan was on for winnowing, and so on. Finally, make sure to label all of your stored seed. Label them on the bag and on the outside of the jar, that way if one label gets damaged or lost, you still have a backup.


ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Bill McDorman's Basic Seed Saving, provides an excellent overview and is broken down into beginner, intermediate, and experienced categories. You can purchase a hard copy, or download a pdf here. If you are interested in digging deeper and want more detailed information about isolation requirements for certain crops, or if you want to move beyond the basic recurrent mass selection breeding model and get into more controlled and selective breeding, check out Rowen White's book Breeding Organic Vegetables. Rowen's mentor, John Navazio, wrote The Organic Seed Grower, which comes very highly recommended. The founder of Native Seeds, Gary Nabhan, has a fabulous book called Enduring Seeds. Matthew and Petra of Fruition Seeds have some really handy videos on their website that show how to clean, process, and save a variety of seeds that you can check out here. Also, keep in mind that there are seed saving clubs and seed swaps taking place all over the map. If you find one in your area, you may be able to connect with a whole network of local friends who are willing to share their knowledge and locally adapted seeds with you.


Good luck and happy seed saving!

Seed School, Part I

I've always been in awe of seeds, and never tire of the miracle by which these tiny things are planted into the soil and transformed into fruits and vegetables. So, when I found out about an opportunity to attend a week long series of classes collectively known as Seed School, I jumped at the chance. This innovative program was put on by a non-profit seed conservation organization called Native Seeds, and hosted by Hampshire College in Amherst, MA. Classes were taught by Native Seeds Executive Director Bill McDorman, Seed School Director, Joy Hought, and Sierra Seed Cooperative founder Rowen White. We covered topics spanning seed biodiversity as it relates to our food system, seed industry history, botany, plant taxonomy, plant reproduction, pollination, genetics, GMOs, and basic plant breeding. There were also plenty of practical hands-on exercises for plant and seed dissection, seed harvesting, processing, and storage. Even though I love seeds, prior to last week, I wondered why a farmer or gardener might want to spend the time and effort saving their own, when it is relatively inexpensive to purchase them from the experts. Now, I have an entirely new perspective. I not only learned how to save seed, but also, and perhaps more importantly, I learned why. I left the week with the knowledge, skills, and inspiration to be a better seed steward.

So, why would a person want to save seeds? I learned that the answer can be primarily divided into two categories: to promote seed diversity and to grow seeds that are regionally adapted to your unique soil and climate conditions. The first reason, for seed diversity, stems from the fact that while there are lots seed companies, there are relatively few breeders. When seed companies all rely on the same shallow pool of breeders, this creates a very narrow germplasm. Additionally, the breeders want to protect their work and be compensated for it, so they create hybrids, which are proprietary, and they patent them. F1 Hybrids are desirable in the market place because of their uniformity. Unfortunately, in the context of biodiversity, uniformity is not such a desirable thing. Breeders are often selecting for traits like high yield, size, color, and flavor, which often come at the expense nutrient density, resiliency, or how the plant will function as a whole. It's all a trade off.

Wheat presents a great example. Wheat has been bred so that it's low to the ground, with dense panicles and short, erect leaves. This makes it even, uniform, easy to harvest. But, the tradeoff is that their short height makes them more susceptible to pests and soil diseases, their dense panicles more susceptible to fungal disease, and their stunted leaves less effective at gathering light. So, they require more inputs like fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides. Another example comes from the development of GMOs. Glyphosate resistant plants, also known as Roundup Ready plants, are developed using a method that disrupts their metabolic pathways and effectively gives them an immunodeficiency disease. It severely hampers their ability to uptake nutrients from the soil. These plants are bred this way because it dramatically increases yield. But, the plants are less and less nutrient dense, which means that the animals that feed on them need to eat significantly more of them, and thus more grazing land, to get the same nutrients (see chart below on reduction in nutrient density in Roundup Ready alfalfa). We were encouraged to stop thinking about yield per acre and begin thinking about nourishment per acre, instead. We are remarkably overfed and undernourished. We currently require a land area the size of Massachusetts to meet our nation's demand for high fructose corn syrup. That crop may be very high yield, but it's very low on nourishment.

Seed breeders who have good seed stewardship in mind are breeding to produce good quality, open pollinated, organically grown, regionally specific seed. They view the seed and plant as parts of a whole system, rather than as individual entities, so they don't mind a little variability in their seed stock. Variability means that if a drought or blight comes along, you are more likely to have a few plants that survive. This presents you with a unique opportunity to save the seeds from those survivors and find yourself one step closer to having a disease resistant or drought tolerant seed stock. These natural breeders aren't collecting patents, and this can be risky, but new seed business models are popping up that provide a different kind of financial incentive for the breeder. Rowen White, founder of the Sierra Seed Cooperative, describes it as tithing to her breeders. In her model, a cooperative network of growers in her region grow the seeds and they get a direct cut of the sale of those seeds based on their market value. The seeds are labeled with their breeder, which gives the breeder a vested interest in producing good quality seed, and the consumer who purchases the seed develops an important connection with the source of their seed.

The second big reason for wanting to save seed is to produce seed that is regionally adapted to your
unique climate and growing conditions. The shallow pool of seed breeders that seed companies purchase from tend to be concentrated in California, since the climate there is most desirable for growing seed crops. So, when I purchase seed from Johnny's or High Mowing Organic Seed Company, I am not necessarily buying seed that was grown in my region, even those these companies are based in my region. These seeds are not particularly well adapted to my region. They don't have relationships with my pollinators, or my soil, or my climate the way seeds would if they were grown here. This often means that they require more inputs like fertilizers in order to be successful. It also means they are less resilient to pests, diseases, and weather events than seeds that are raised here. Those maps on the back of seed packets that show which zone you can expect your seeds to grow are generalizations. Just because a seed will grow here doesn't necessarily make it regionally adapted. If we want to talk about and facilitate truly regional food systems, we must start with the development of regionally specific seeds.

We were encouraged to think of seeds the way Native Americans think of them; as pieces of a whole system, rather than entities unto themselves. Two members of the Vermont Abenaki tribe came to speak on that point. Fred Wiseman is an ethnobotanist and Melody Brooks is a historian. They paired up to form an initiative called Haven, which is reconnecting Abenakis with their cultural heritage. Recolonizing their past, they called it. They spoke of how broken their culture had become and their first step to reclaiming it was to restore their indigenous seeds. They did this not a moment too soon, as their Abenaki Rose corn was down to only 3 known ears left in the world. As they reclaimed their seed heritage, they realized that was only one piece of the puzzle and began seeking out the dances and songs done at specific times throughout the growing season that honor the sun, the rain, and the crops themselves. They found recordings of their native songs that had been captured by the Smithsonian Institute onto wax cylinders. They studied them, learned their context, the words, the dance steps, and the seasonally appropriate times to perform them. They studied the culturally specific agricultural methods used to plant the seeds. What they found was that when all these pieces came together, it led to a rediscovery of their identity. And they learned that rediscovering who you are as a people defines your responsibility to the world. They spoke of this with tears streaking their cheeks and we realized that they were embodying two central themes of the week: If we take care of the seeds, they'll take of us and the idea that perhaps our greatest responsibility is to be good ancestors.

Abenaki Rose Corn

I leave this week-long experience empowered to be a better seed steward. I learned how to grow, harvest, clean, store, and breed seeds. I learned that I don't need to be an expert geneticist to do so. The process was demystified, and I'm much less intimidated to give it a try. Next time I have a blight wipe out my tomatoes, I know to recognize it as an opportunity to collect seed from the few that survive, thus increasing my chances each season of having a tough, resilient crop of tomatoes. I learned that if I can finally get a decent crop of okra to grow here, and I save their seeds, I will be one season closer to having a variety uniquely adapted to my region. I also learned to be a better seed consumer. When I do buy seed, I want to be able to know the breeder and know that the seed was bred in my region. I found out about some brilliant natural breeders in my region that are doing great work, like Matthew and Petra of Fruition Seeds, and I want to support their efforts. I also met some really great people, both those leading the classes and fellow classmates who are already doing lots of really inspiring work to bring seeds and plants to life for their communities. Finally, I leave this week feeling really excited to share this important information. So, thank you for being a captive audience and stay tuned for Part II, where I'll talk about how to save your very own seeds.

Thanksgiving Sides

Thanksgiving is a week away, and whether you're hosting a meal, or just bringing a dish to a family gathering, it's a good time to start planning. Thinking about what can be done ahead of time means that you will spend less time in the kitchen and more time enjoying the company of your family and friends on Thanksgiving day. One of my favorite culinary websites, thekitchn.com features a great list of the top 10 things to do before Thanksgiving that is worth a look if you're hosting a feast. Planning the menu, making space in your fridge and freezer, and taking a quick inventory of the equipment you will need will save you lots of time and stress come Turkey day. Also, Many of the components of your meal can be made or prepped ahead of time.

The same side dishes seem to grace Thanksgiving tables year after year. I'm all for honoring family food traditions, but there is also something to be said for making room for new ones. You just might find a delicious replacement for that tired green bean casserole. Today, I'll share a few that I've tested out recently. They all feature ingredients that are in season and readily available this time of year, which makes a lot of sense for a meal that's all about celebrating the harvest. They can also be made in advance, or at least prepped in advance to save you some kitchen time on Thursday. The first is a pan seared butternut squash recipe adapted from one that I found on thekitchn.com, with a few minor changes.  The second is a rich, creamy pumpkin sage polenta that comes from the blog Kitchen Confidante and makes great use of any pumpkin puree you have left over from making your pumpkin pie. The third breathes new life into your usual scalloped potato recipe and was recommended by a friend who found it in a cookbook called Quick Vegetarian Pleasures by Jeanne Lemlin. 

Pan Seared Butternut Squash 

2 Tbsp sunflower oil

5 fresh sage leaves

4 fresh thyme sprigs

1 medium butternut squash (about 2 lbs)

1 Tbsp pomegranate juice

1 tsp honey

2 Tbsp aged balsamic vinegar

2 Tbsp olive oil

sea salt & fresh ground pepper

Freshly shaved Parmesan (optional)

Peel the butternut squash, cut it in vertical halves, scoop out the seeds and stringy pulp, then cube it into small pieces. Roughly chop the fresh herbs and set aside. Heat the sunflower oil in a large cast iron skillet or other large, heavy frying pan over high heat. When the oil is good and hot, add the fresh herbs and fry them for 30 seconds. This crystallizes the herbs, allowing them to keep their bright green color and a nice texture. Next, add the squash, toss to coat in the oil and herbs, then spread it into a single layer. Reduce heat to medium-high and cook for 5 minutes, stirring only once or twice. Reduce the heat to medium, add salt and pepper, and continue cooking for another 10 minutes, or until the squash is starting to brown and soften. Stir occasionally.

While the squash is cooking, mix the honey, pomegranate juice, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Buying pomegranate juice is expensive, so I thought I'd be clever, buy a whole pomegranate, and try to do it myself. After peeling it, plucking out a handful of seeds, crushing them with my mortar and pestle, straining out the juice, then cleaning up the big mess I'd made, I decided that they sell that stuff already juiced for good reason and it might just be worth the extra dime to buy it that way. Lesson learned. 

While whisking the juice with the other sauce ingredients in your small bowl, slowly drizzle in the olive oil in a steady stream until well emulsified. Once the squash is tender, pour the sauce into the pan and use a spatula to scrape any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. After a minute or so, remove from heat. Serve right away or let it cool and pop it in the fridge to be reheated on Thanksgiving day. Serve with the fresh Parmesan shavings on top, if desired. 

Pumpkin Sage Polenta

3 C water

1 C polenta

3 tsp kosher salt

1/2 C pumpkin puree (fresh or canned)

1 tsp sage, chopped

1/2 C Parmesan cheese

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

In a medium saucepan, whisk together the water, polenta, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking occasionally. Add the pumpkin and the sage. Lower the heat and let it simmer, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon for about 15-20 minutes, or until the polenta begins to pull away from the sides of the pan.Stir in the cheese and butter. Serve immediately, or cool it, store it in the fridge, and reheat it on the stove adding a little water or broth when you are ready to serve it. 

Scalloped Kale and Potatoes

1 lb fresh kale

5 medium-large potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 C grated Swiss or cheddar 

6 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into bits

1/2 tsp salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 1/4 C milk

Rinse the kale and trim the leaves from the stems. Compost or discard the stems. Stuff the kale into a medium pot and add just enough water to cover the bottom of your pot (about 1/2 C). Cook until the kale just wilts, about 7 minutes. Drain and cool the kale. Squeeze out the remaining water with your hands, roughly chop it, and set it aside. 

Preheat the oven to 425 F. Generously butter a large shallow baking dish (9x13 will do). Spread half of the potato slices into the baking dish, then spread on all of the kale. Sprinkle on the garlic and half of the cheese, butter, salt, and pepper. Top with the remaining potato slices, cheese, butter, salt, and pepper. Carefully pour in the milk and gently shake the dish to distribute. Bake for 50 minutes, or until potatoes are tender and the top is golden brown. 

That should cover your side dishes. If you're looking for a turkey brine recipe, or want to make a pumpkin pie with all fresh ingredients, check out my post from last thanksgiving. Happy feasting!

Pear Crumb Pie, Pear Cordial, & Vanilla Extract

Go out on a limb. That's where the fruit is.
         -Will Rogers

 

It's pear season and my friend Katherine generously allowed me to pick a big basket full from the trees in her yard. I grew up with a pear tree in my yard in Alabama and my mom would bake the best pear bread and pear pies. Feeling nostalgic for those things,  I decided to use some of the pears to make a pear crumb pie. The recipe comes from a cookbook that I love and have mentioned in previous posts called Farmstead Chef. The authors lament that the pear is often regarded as the ugly stepsister of the pie world. It rarely tops any pie flavor lists or wins any contests, but it's a shame since they bake so nicely with a more complex flavor and texture than their more often favored fall counterpart, the apple.

Pear Crumb Pie:

For the crust-

1 1/2 C flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 C butter (1 stick)

4-5 Tbsp cold water

I mixed organic all-purpose flour from Nitty Gritty Grain Company with the salt. Next, the recipe suggests cutting in the cold butter with a pastry blender, but since I don't have one of those, I cut it in the way I always do- with kitchen shears. I cut it into the flour in tiny bits, then use my fingers to massage it in until well incorporated and the butter pieces are pea-sized. Next, pull all but a quarter of the butter flour mixture to one side of your bowl and sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the water over the small portion of butter and flour. Toss lightly with a fork. Then, pull another quarter of the flour mix to that side, repeat with another tablespoon of water, toss again with the fork, and continue to repeat until you have put in all of the water and incorporated it all gently with the fork. Lightly flour your work surface and gather the dough into a ball. Place the ball of dough on the floured surface and use a rolling pin to roll it, using gentle strokes from the center out, until it is about 1/8 inch thick. If edges split, pinch them back together. Transfer the pastry carefully to 9 inch pie plate then trim around the edges and crimp them with a fork.

For the filling-

1/2 C brown sugar, firmly packed
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
6 C pears, peeled and thinly sliced
1 Tbsp lemon juice

Combine all filling ingredients and pour into the pie crust. Bake at 400 Fahrenheit for 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the crumb topping.

For the crumb topping-

2/3 C flour
1/3 C brown sugar, firmly packed
1/3 C butter

Combine the flour and brown sugar, then cut in the butter using the same method you did for the crust. When the pie has been baking 20 minutes, remove it from the oven, pour the topping on, and return it to the oven for another 40 minutes until golden and bubbly.

With the remaining pears, I decided to try another recipe from Farmstead Chef to make a batch of pear cordial. A cordial is a sweet alcoholic beverage made by infusing alcohol with a fruit, nut, herb, or flower. Cordials are quick and simple to make, but do take several weeks in a cool, dark place to allow the alcohol to infuse. I intend to use this batch for holiday gifts, so I'm preparing them now and giving them plenty of time for the flavors to develop and intensify.

Pear Cordial:

3 C sugar
2 C water
6 C pears, peeled and thinly sliced
1 Tbsp lemon zest
2 1/2 C vodka

Boil sugar and water over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. When the mixture is clear, remove from heat and let stand until just warm.

Place the pears and lemon zest in a sterilized gallon-sized glass jar with a

tight-fitting lid. Pour syrup over the pears, then add the vodka. Stir, then let stand in a cool, dark place for 2 weeks.

When two weeks have passed, use a fine mesh strainer to remove the solids. Transfer the strained cordial to another sterilized glass jar, cover, and let sit at least another 3 weeks. The final step is to strain it through a cheesecloth to remove any sediment and pour it into the sterilized final bottles.

Pear cordial can be sipped warm or over ice. It is also great mixed with seltzer and topped with a fresh grate of ginger, or it can be used to spice up your favorite winter cocktail. Another fun idea is to use it in a recipe. I can imagine it making a delicious twist on tiramisu, as the soak for the lady fingers in lieu of espresso. Or, add a dash to your favorite pear bread or cake recipe. Get creative with it and you'll come up with something great.

With holiday gifts in mind and some vodka left from the pear cordial project, I decided to make homemade vanilla extract. Vanilla beans are expensive, but pure vanilla extract is even more expensive, so you still save by making your own. Like the cordial, it takes time for the flavors to be extracted and develop, so prepare accordingly.

Vanilla Extract:

4 C Vodka
4 whole vanilla beans

Slice a vertical slit in each vanilla bean with the tip of a sharp knife. Place them in a clean glass jar with a lid, cover with vodka, close tightly, and allow to sit in a cool, dark place for 2-3 months. Strain through a cheesecloth and transfer to several smaller sterile glass jars.

As the quote at the start of this post suggests, sometimes the fruits of life require a little extra effort. When someone kindly invites you to come pick fresh fruit or veggies from their yard, take them up on it and make something delicious. When you can make or grow something yourself rather than purchasing it ready-made, jump at the chance. Your version will likely be more delicious and less expensive. Cooking good, healthy food from scratch and with seasonal ingredients takes more time and effort than cooking from a box or a can, but I firmly believe it's worth every second. It is tastier, healthier, and more affordable. Plus, I learn a lot in the process, I get to know exactly what is in it, and I experience the satisfaction that comes from preparing it with my own two hands. In the fast paced world we occupy, having time to prepare our own food can sometimes feel like a luxury we can't afford, but I think it is important to carve out a little time for it. I try to think of it as an investment in my health and an investment in building a better food system around me.

Roasted Potatoes, Homemade Ketchup, & Apple Crisp

The abundance of fruits and vegetables coming from the garden in late summer can be both thrilling and exhausting. This is the time of year when every day brings new piles of fresh produce to the kitchen counter. After a recent marathon of bean freezing and pickling, my friend Tom quipped that the lesson for next year is that 20 feet of pole beans is 15 feet too many. I've heard people joke that this is the time of year when you will find squash in your parked car if you leave your windows down. Or, maybe you will find bags of zucchini dropped off on your porch in the dead of night by someone who couldn't bear the thought of stuffing, baking, frying, or making yet another loaf of zucchini bread with it. While I've never gone quite that far, I will admit to occasionally being overwhelmed by the volume of produce coming out of the garden in August and September, but ultimately, I am thankful for every bit of it.

I believe that the key is to build as many of your meals as possible around the things that can't be easily preserved, and get creative with the rest. Right now, my fermenting crock holds the last four garden cabbages, slowly turning them into another batch of sauerkraut. The dehydrator hums its low, steady song as it dries five trays packed with herbs, garlic, and peppers which will be pulsed in the food processor and turned into a dry seasoning rub. The freezer is well stocked with beans and berries and collard greens have been on the menu most nights of the last few weeks. Yes, preserving food can be a demanding process, but I remind myself that by putting things up in large batches, there is an economy of scale that makes it worth every bit of the effort. Plus, the effort exerted up-front balances with the ease and effortlessness of pulling a meal together with those same things in the winter months. 

A hanging basket in my kitchen holds enough tomatoes that the hook suspending it from the ceiling threatens to give up and send them all crashing to the floor.  Over the last two weeks I made a giant pot of pasta sauce incorporating garden garlic, shallots, basil, parsley, oregano, and bell peppers. I also blanched, peeled, and  canned a few quarts. Today,  I have decided to use the most recent batch of ripe tomatoes to try making homemade ketchup. Ketchup without high fructose corn syrup can be purchased, but  it's pricey, so I love the idea of making my own, instead. The recipe comes from the thekitchn.com and will make about a pint. I'll keep one jar in the fridge and freeze the rest. The basic necessities for homemade ketchup are tomatoes, simmered with onions, garlic, vinegar and spices. Then pureed, strained, sweetened, and cooked again until it reaches the desired consistency. The spices can vary according to taste. Here is what I added to mine:

Homemade Ketchup

4 Lbs fresh tomatoes, cored and quartered
1 Tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1/2 C apple cider vinegar
2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground cayenne
1/4 tsp Tabasco sauce
1/2 C brown sugar
1 Tbsp molasses

Begin by heating the oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the onion and cook until it begins to soften, about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and continue cooking for another minute or so. Add the tomatoes, skins and all, along with the vinegar, salt, pepper, allspice, cayenne, and Tabasco. Simmer for 30 minutes and skim the skins from the top of the pot with a slotted spoon. Working in batches, puree the mixture in a blender, then strain through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds and any remaining skins. Return the tomato puree to the pot, add the brown sugar and molasses, and continue to simmer until the ketchup reaches the desired consistency. The recipe suggested 30 minutes, but I decided to go much longer since I wanted it to be thick. I stored one jar in the fridge and froze the rest in freezer safe containers.

Now that I have a tasty homemade ketchup, I couldn't wait to try it on some roasted Mountain Rose potatoes that I dug a few weeks ago. I love roasting potatoes in fresh garlic and herbs until they are crispy and golden brown. It beats the heck out of a french fry any day, if you ask me.  Potatoes are easy to grow and store with minimal effort.  Growing them entails cutting the seed potatoes into sections so that each section has at least two sprouting eyes, planting them in clumps of 4 or 5, and mounding the dirt up around each clump of potatoes as they grow. Storing them is as simple as finding a cool, dry place. My basement meets those conditions, so I store them in a big, flat basket lined with a burlap bag.

Garlic and Herb Roasted Potatoes

6-8 small potatoes, quartered
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp of fresh herbs of your choice. I like to use parsley, rosemary, thyme, and marjoram.
Generous drizzle of olive oil
Salt & fresh ground pepper

Toss the potatoes, garlic, herbs, salt, pepper, and olive oil until well coated. Pour onto a baking sheet in a single layer with a little room around each potato so that they can brown. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes, or until they are golden brown and crispy at the edges.

My final pile of produce begging to be transformed today consists of a mix of apples. Vermont is famous for its abundance of orchards growing a mind-boggling variety of apples. Before moving here, I never knew so many varieties of apple existed. Champlain Orchards in Shoreham, VT grows over 50 different varieties and I have yet to try them all. The pile on my counter represents a mix of apples from a small tree in the yard, plus a few that I got from Champlain Orchards. All are relatively firm varieties, with tart flesh that make them well suited for baking, so I decided to make an apple crisp. This recipe comes from one of my favorite cookbooks called The Farmstead Chef. This cookbook covers everything from soups, salads, breads, entrees, and deserts to drinks, sauces, and pantry-stocking staples like baking mixes; all with a focus on fresh, wholesome, seasonal ingredients. The recipe couldn't be much more simple and it is oh, so delicious:

Apple Crisp

4 C apples, sliced with skins on
3/4 C brown sugar
1/2 C flour
1/2 C oats
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/3 C butter, softened, plus 1Tbsp for buttering pan

Arrange sliced apples in a buttered 8 inch square baking pan. Mix sugar, flour, oats, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl. Cut in the remaining butter and massage with your hands until it resembles coarse sand. Spread over the apples and bake at 375 F for 30 minutes, or until topping is golden brown.

Berries

 I write today with stained fingers and tongue from a bounty of berries. The blueberries and raspberries are nearing the end of their season and the blackberries are just beginning to peak, so during this sliver of time where their seasons overlap, berries are plentiful. The blueberries come from two cultivated bushes, but the blackberries and raspberries are wild and the woods surrounding the house are full of them this time of year. I mentioned in my last post how simple it is to freeze berries whole. While I love the ease and versatility of preserving them that way, I decided to use this preservation Monday to try something a little different. The first idea came from my mother-in-law, who found an easy recipe for blackberry frozen yogurt pops in Real Simple magazine that sounded worth a try. I don't have any popcicle molds, so I decided to try freezing them in ice cube trays as mini-pops. I also couldn't help but add a bit of fresh mint.

Berry Yogurt Pops

1 3/4 C plain, full-fat Greek yogurt
4 Tbsp sugar, agave, or honey (I used honey)
3/4 lb blackberries ( I used a combo of blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries)
1 Tbsp fresh mint, chopped

Whisk the yogurt with 2 tablespoons of the sweetener of your choice in a medium bowl.

In a separate bowl, combine the berries with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sweetener and the mint, if using. Mash with a fork until coarsely crushed.

Starting with the yogurt, layer the yogurt mix and the berry mash until your molds are full. Insert a stick and freeze for at least 3 hours.

While preparing the ice cube tray of mini-pops, I had an idea to do something similar with pureed berries, lemon, and mint.

Berrylicious Ice Cubes

2 C fresh berries
1 tsp honey
1 Tbsp fresh mint, chopped
juice from half of a lemon
zest from half of a lemon

Combine all in a blender or food processor, then pour evenly into an ice cube tray. Freeze for 3-4 hours, then pop the cubes out and transfer them to a freezer bag or other freezer-friendly container. Add to lemonade, iced tea, water, or your favorite mixed drink for a fresh burst of berry goodness.

The third and final berry-themed project for the day was to make fruit leather. These will make a great packable snack for lunch or a hike.

Berry Fruit Leather

4 C  fresh berries
juice from half a lemon
zest from half a lemon
1 Tbsp honey (optional)

Puree in a blender or food processor until smooth, then spread in a thin layer, 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick, onto a silicone baking mat, freezer paper, or onto the sheets made for fruit leathers that come with a food dehydrator. Leave an inch-wide border around the edge of your sheet to allow for spreading once the mixture gets warm. They will take 4-8 hours in a dehydrator or oven set to 140 F. You will know they are done when they get somewhat tacky and flexible. Roll the finished leathers between sheets of waxed paper or plastic wrap. You can also dust the finished leather with a fine coat of confectioners sugar before rolling to prevent stickiness.

Garden Update

The garden demands a lot of attention by this time of the growing season, but it also now provides daily rewards. The first planting of salad greens are nearly gone and the second planting withered in the heat wave over the last few weeks. I intend to plant a third batch, but will wait until temperatures are on the decline. Thankfully, the second planting of radishes fared well and we have been enjoying them, along with lots of fresh herbs and the summer's first peas.  I often crave the shelling peas, or field peas as we called them, that I enjoyed so much as a kid in Alabama. I always griped about having to help my mom shell them, but I never complained about eating them and now that I look back on that time, I have great memories of shelling peas with my mom. Purple hulls were my favorite variety, but since they nor their other southern counterparts will grow well here (and boy, how I've tried), I have found a suitable replacement called Laxton's Progress #9 Shelling Peas.

Laxton's Progress #9 Shelling Peas

A few weeks ago, we were enjoying garlic scapes and now that July is coming to an end, it's time to pull, clean, and dry the garlic that has been growing since last October. You may remember the Autumn Garden post where I wrote about garlic planting. Garlic makes a great crop to grow since it is generally hardy, doesn't need a lot of attention during the growing process, and is very easy to store with minimal effort toward preservation. I simply pull it up, snip the necks and roots, wash it, peel off the outermost layer of skin, and let it dry in a ventilated area for a week or so. Once the skins feel papery, then the garlic is ready to be stored in a cool, dry place where it will remain good for months.  I use garlic in just about every dish I make. It packs a lot of flavor, plus it is extremely heart healthy and can protect against various cancers, most notably breast, prostate, and colon cancer. According to University of Alabama biologist Dr. David W. Kraus, to maximize the health benefits of garlic, crush it at room temperature and allow it to sit for 15 minutes before adding it to your meal. This triggers an enzyme reaction that boosts the healthy compounds in the garlic. It is also more beneficial when consumed raw rather than cooked.

Late July also signals the start of blueberry season in my region. I picked the first handful of ripe berries on Wednesday and they made a delicious, seasonal addition to my breakfast. Blueberries are chock full of antioxidants, Vitamin C, fiber, phytonutrients, and manganese. As part of a regular diet, they play a role in heart health, brain health, insulin response, and cancer prevention. Since they have a relatively short season, it is great to get out and pick your own while they last, either from your garden or a local u-pick berry farm. To preserve them, simply wash them, shake off any excess water, and freeze them in a single layer. You can do this by spreading them onto a baking sheet and popping them in the freezer until they harden. Then, transfer them to freezer bags or other air-tight freezer containers to pull out and use anytime you want to make a cobbler, a blueberry topping for pancakes, a smoothie, or use them any other way you wish.

Another July garden chore is to keep the cabbage worms in check. These worms are the larvae of dainty white butterflies that seem way too graceful and attractive to wreak such havoc on the plants in the Brassicas family. They eat the leaves of the plant and, as the plants approach maturity, the velvety green worms will bore into your cabbage heads or infest the undersides of broccoli or cauliflower crowns, making them hard to see. If you can't spot the worms, you may be able to spot the trail of green excrement they leave behind. When gardening organically, the best way to control these worms is to hand pick them in the mornings or evenings, when they are most active. I hold a cup of soapy water in one hand, scoop the cabbage worms off the plant with the other, and slip them into the soapy water. If you pick them off once or twice a week, you can effectively control the population and save your beautiful cabbages, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and other related crops from becoming a worm feast.

cabbage worm munching a hole in a young head of cabbage

The vegetables that aren't yet ready to harvest are still making beautiful contributions to the garden with their colorful blossoms and tiny, young veggies.  I'll wrap up today with a few photos of my favorites:

Rattlesnake Pole Bean blossom

Calendula

Tug helps check on the budding okra

blossoms on Mountain Rose potatoes