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

Salads & Scapes

Sheep's Sorrel

The time has finally come when I get to begin enjoying fresh veggies straight from the garden. Going out with a basket, picking, and shaking the dirt from vegetables that are still holding the warmth of the sun or still speckled with morning dew is remarkably satisfying. Today's harvest mostly included garlic scapes, piles of lettuce, radishes, and a few wild edibles that I like to add to summer salads. Dandelion greens are great in the spring, but have turned bitter by now, so I stuck with sheep's sorrel and plantain, both of which grow wild in and around the yard. They are loaded with iron and boast nutrient profiles that will make your garden plants jealous. Sorrel is especially known as an anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, antioxidant, immune-boosting powerhouse with a nice lemon-pepper zing that makes it a flavorful addition to many recipes. Plantain tastes a bit like spinach and also has a reputation as a healing plant, full of calcium, beta-carotene, ascorbic acid, and Vitamin K. It has anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, and detoxifying qualities. When added to skin salves, it promotes wound healing, softens skin, and stimulates cellular regeneration.  And to think, most consider these plants to be weeds! 

Plantain

Cherry Belle radishes

  

After tossing together a fresh salad, I love topping it with a homemade dressing and homemade croutons. Both offer inexpensive, healthy, delicious alternatives to picking up the same items processed for supermarket shelves. For the croutons, simply cube any stale bread you might have on hand, toast it lightly, then toss it with fresh garden herbs, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, grated parmesan, or any other flavoring that suits your tastes.  Toast it once more after you toss it with herbs and spices and they are ready to top your salad. Store any extras in an airtight container. They will remain good for a week or two.

 My two favorite homemade salad dressings are a creamy buttermilk ranch and a tangy maple-balsamic vinaigrette. The buttermilk ranch recipe comes from a new cookbook I picked up recently from Diane St. Clair of The Animal Farm in Orwell, VT. I mentioned my obsession with her buttermilk in two previous posts, one involving buttermilk bread, and another featuring my buttermilk birthday cake. Thanks to her new Buttermilk Cookbook I am armed with pages and pages of tasty new ways to use it. 

Classic Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
 
1/3 C buttermilk
1/4 C good-quality mayonnaise
3 Tbsp chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
salt & fresh ground pepper 

Whisk all of the ingredients together in a small bowl and feel free to get creative with it. Diane suggests experimenting with flavor variations on this simple base recipe with things like chipotle chiles, parmesan, or roasted garlic. Today I added fresh chives and a bit of sheep's sorrel. 

Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette

1/2 C balsamic Vinegar
1/4 C maple Syrup
1 C olive oil
1 Tbsp whole grain Dijon mustard
salt & pepper

Combine all but the oil in a blender or food processor, pulse until combined, then add the oil in a steady stream while the processor is still running until the mixture is completely emulsified.  

Both dressings can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The ranch will last about a week, and the vinaigrette will last much longer, but is best when pulled from the fridge an hour or so from when you want to use it, then shaken vigorously to allow the oil and vinegar to re-blend.

 

Scapes are the graceful, curling shoots that come from the garlic plant and, if left on the plant, they will flower, but will also divert energy that could otherwise go toward developing a larger garlic bulb below ground. As a result, I like to snip mine off as soon as they appear and begin curling, which usually happens about a month after the garlic first develops leaves. Leaving them longer will result in tougher, woodier scapes which are not as desirable to eat. When harvested at the right time, scapes are delicious in a pesto or can be used to add a fresh, pungent kick to any recipe where you might otherwise use garlic or onions. 

Garlic Scape Pesto

10-12 garlic scapes
1/3 C unsalted, roasted pistachios
1/3 C finely grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/3 C olive oil

Blend all but the olive oil in a blender or food processor, then drizzle the olive oil in a steady stream while the processor is running until well blended. Pesto can be used as a dip, as a spread on crackers or crusty bread, or tossed with pasta for a quick meal. If you don't use it all right away, it freezes beautifully.