What to do with my produce?

I've been writing some blogs for work at Mountain Valley Seed Co..Here's my latest one.

So is anyone else having trouble keeping up with the produce in their garden? I’m so excited for harvest season- you finally get to see the fruits (literally) of all your labors! My tomatoes are finally changing color, the basil is getting bushier, I’ve been harvesting beans and cucumbers the last month or so, my peppers are going crazy and now I’ve got zucchini to deal with…. Along with the steady supply of kale, chard, beets, micro greens and carrots supplied in my CSA from BUG Farms, I’ve started falling behind in actually eating and preserving all of this nutritiousness.

And it’s just the beginning of harvest season!

So what to do? Tell me. How do I keep all this stuff from going to waste? Eat more veggies right? And maybe do some canning or something? Right. But it’s not that easy, as I’m sure you all know. Don’t get me wrong, I do my fair share of veggie crunching, but you can only eat so many raw veggies before needing a change in texture. Let’s face it, a lot of veggies taste better when they’re cooked or prepared in interesting and delicious ways. That’s why humans invented the art of cooking- and it is an art! As much time as we’ve all spent on our garden, now we’ve got to put just as much effort into cooking, preserving, freezing, drying and eating our yummy fruits and veggies.

So let’s make a deal and help each other. I’ll share some recipes if you share yours!

Together we will become culinary artists of the masterful kind.

Here are some ideas I’ve come up with so far:

Fresh Bruschetta- one of my all time favorites!

Baguette, olive oil, fresh mozzarella, garden fresh tomatoes and basil leaves, salt, pepper.

Slice fresh baguette, brush or rub with olive oil, add a slice of fresh mozzerella, tomato, salt and pepper. Put basil leaves on top. Enjoy!

Shredded Beet and Carrot Salad

I haven’t tried this one yet, but I have a lot of beets and carrots to eat. Doesn’t it look beautiful? Check out the link. I think adding apples to this would be delicious.

Kale Chips

Put parchment paper or aluminum foil on baking pan. Chop stems off kale, chop in smaller pieces if you’d like. Drizzle and toss with olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste or Cajun seasoning. Bake at 400 F until crispy or desired texture. About 15-20 min.

Sauteed beans and greens

Chop and string beans, chop off stems and chop up kale, chard, pok choi and/or spinach greens. Saute garlic first in butter or oil, then add beans. After 5 min add greens. Saute for about 5-10 more min, just until wilted and bright green- don’t over cook.

Veggie Lasagna with Zucchini and Chard

I made this last week and it was amazing! The recipe is in “Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone” by Deborah Madison I substituted the eggplant for zucchini.

Pickles, “Dilly Beans” and Pickled Peppers

I use this recipe for all three except I add a spicy pepper per jar, grape leaves (1-2 per jar) and sometimes powdered alum (these two help keep them crunchy). I like to cut the cucumbers into spears and cut off the ends. The beans I cut off the ends. The peppers I put in the jar whole.

Here’s a great resource I found about freezing, drying, canning and storing produce from Wasatch Community Gardens…

Also some good canning and preserving info from Utah State University Extension.

I need to do more freezing. And get a bigger freezer. Freezer salsa is next on the list!

Ok, now it’s your turn. What do you do with all of your produce?

News from the pumpkin

So let me start off by saying….I feel a little embarrassed. Maybe that’s why I haven’t written for a while.

Here’s what my “giant” pumpkin looks like right now:

And here’s what an experienced giant pumpkin grower’s giant pumpkin looks like right now:

The bees are doing there job, so that’s not the problem.

I’m just a little behind…What can I say, I’m a beginner at growing gigantic pumpkins. And I got a late start this spring….Hey, we all learn from our mistakes. Before you throw me a pity party, let’s remind ourselves that my goal was to grow a pumpkin boat, which if I’m not being too idealistic, I think I might be able to pull off with maybe 200-300 lb pumpkin. Maybe. The experienced pumpkin growers, like the one growing the beautiful pumpkin above, on the other hand, are looking to grow a record breaking pumpkin- upwards of 1000 lbs! So hey, let’s not give up hope for my little pumpkin quite yet. I’ve still got some time right? Even if it frosts in September as it sometimes does, I’ve got a whole month of growth left.. If mine grows as fast as most giant pumpkins do, I think I should be able to pull off at least a tiny version of a giant pumpkin in comparison….If the frost stays away till October, which it sometimes does, I might even still have a chance at growing that pumpkin boat I’ve been dreaming about. Who knows?

Keep your fingers crosses and let’s wait and see!

Lessons from the giant pumpkin:

-Get a head start. Build a hoop house; start the pumpkin in the hoop house in April.

-Be diligent about training the vines (let the main vine grow straight down the middle, and carefully but diligently bury the secondary vines to help grow more roots and bring up more nutrients from the soil). I started doing this, but haven’t kept up with it…giant pumpkin growing can be a full time job. Already have one of those:)!

-Don’t grow anything else in your pumpkin patch
(you can see in my picture that I let some volunteer tomatoes and other squash grow in the same space [remember all of that fresh compost I added to my new garden? looks like it was full of seeds!] – they’re doing well but taking nutrients away from the pumpkin plant).

-Don’t give up hope! Keep fertilizing and maintaining your pumpkin patch even if you get behind:)

-Krystal