Soft Serve and Post Haste Garden Post

World's Best Softserve (Sugar Free, Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Soy Free, Nut Free)

Adapted from an idea at ChocolateCoveredKatie
6 frozen very ripe bananas
1/2 fair trade unsweetened cocoa
1/4 c french vanilla so delicious coconut creamer
1/2 c lowfat soy or rice milk
pinch of guar gum (optional) but keeps it soft.

Blend in blender. Pour into bowl and freeze. Use more milk if it needs to be thinned. Eat within two -four hours. Good with blackberry syrup, pomegranate syrup or brandy. Read on for an account of gardening so far this summer.
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Eden Farms, CU, Pittsburgh, the old well as compost pile

If 'post haste' should be the norm for deadlines, I failed this summer.

The colors of the M&Ms but in nature! Spot the Blue!

Do you remember when you bought grocery produce that had to be checked for pests and ripeness? I recall turning bags of apples for the least worm eaten. When was the last time you found a worm hole in a bag of grocery store apples? Does that worry you a bit? What are they spraying that not one apple has a worm in it?

A couple of summers ago I learned about ripening rooms for Kroger. These are for bananas. Want to learn more about them? Click here. I got to thinking about the produce at the store and why, when I buy out of season, I get so many stomach issues. Why when the powdering grey of pesticide is thick, do I double over in pain? Why when I garden even hybrid plant starts do I still harvest decent tasting fruits and veggies? Is is more than heirloom, though I am stuck to beauty, variety and flavor of my Cherokee Purples, Lemon Zebras, Lemon Drop, Chocolate drop, Amish Pasters, Mortgage Lifters, Canary Melons, and other heirlooms? Is it what they spray? How they fertilize? And finally, that they pick and deliver vegetables and fruits before nature's cycle approves harvest. Those skins are as edible as newsprint, or plastic wrap.

I love eating from the garden this time of year. We have had a bounty, thanks to obscene water bills. We shared with our neighbors. While I traveled from the week of July to the third week of August, folks helped to water. My kids covered the cycle. I was able to tour Chatham University's Eden farm and learn about their co-planting garden experiments. Next year, I repeat the cukes but mix with something else. They didn't compliment with the squash. I think a pretty tobacco plant may be in order. Those repel squash bugs, I hear. I may throw in some other heavily scented herbs, lemon verbena, or more basil. We can never have two much pesto in our house. My daughter froze 24 ice blocks of it today. We'll make more in a week or so. Each 2oz block will make us a pasta dish.

One of my honeydew babies!

I was happy to harvest three honeydews from the 75 cent plant I rescued. I harvest too early. My mother used to make me knock the watermelons, which I saw an Indian man doing at the international grocery Saraga last Friday.  I had to sniff the ends of cantalopes for the pungent musk. I hated cantalopes and the ripe smell made me gag. It turns out, we picked the honeydews a bit soon. While I traveled, I asked my daughter to peel and deseed one of them, then freeze it.-- I can smoothy those up. Frozen melon and frozen banana make some great, low sugar 'soft serves.' See my chocolate soft serve recipe below-- Needless to say, progeny of a certain age are almost incapable of following more than 60% of directions, even simplified into three steps.

So I defrosted half an unpeeled honeydew and tried to cut its unripe flesh from the skin. It took this vegetarian momma back to days when I had to butcher and carve chicken flesh. It squiggled under my skin and my knife almost slipped and nicked me.  It was a bit hard to eat.

Ripeness matters.

Even in Pittsburgh the heat oppressed cats.

My mom  used to have me pick the bananas that would turn in a day or so. The sugars were less starchy. We two days of banana eating and the remainders became bread. Mom did buy those often, since bananas were expensive compared to Michigan peaches and Hoosier apples. Nowadays, it's almost impossible to find local varieties. Local means it came within 6 to 10 hours from here, instead of say, Guatemala. When we were down there, we saw vast plantations adapted with North American fruits and veggies that would be harvest just a tad early and rushed north for your local chain store. The less perfect specimens were sold at local auctions. My husband pointed out that the eating at the Hogar Rafael Ayau is much healthier and easier on his stomach than American food.  Perhaps it's because the produce is fresh. Perhaps it's because it's not laced with preservatives when it is prepared. Either way, he got sick with the first meal back in the USA.  Ah, America.

Two weeks ago, Layla replanted beans, which is a first for our home garden. Liam did some peas. I hope to get this rotation habit improved next year. Travel kills several good rhythms in me: fasting, self-control, prayer and gardening.

Recipe:

Refreshing fruit drink recipes!--Dianne

I just received the latest Urban Farm magazine, and it has a big article on blackberries in it.. It also has a recipe for making blackberry cordial, which rang a bell for me.  Come on, all you romantic novel-reading girls out there, remember in Ann of Green Gables, the incident with the cordial?   Well, I thought it would be a hoot to try to make some.  I looked for the magazine just now, of course it's not to be found, but I found these recipes in the mean time.   Anyone can make these, garden or not.  I'm providing alcoholic, and non-alcoholic, whichever is your style, or both!

This recipe is from the Anne of Green Gables cookbook by Kate MacDonald. "Diana poured herself out a tumblerful, looked at it's bright-red hue admiringly, and then sipped it daintily. "That's awfully nice raspberry cordial, Anne," she said. "I didn't know raspberry cordial was so nice." " Anne of Green Gables chapter 26

This one uses frozen raspberries, sugar, water, and lemon slices.
http://www.food.com/recipe/Anne-of-Green-Gables-Raspberry-Cordial-61879


Here's one with vodka.  It's basically the same one as the Urban Farm article, but it said to let it sit for 2-8 weeks, the longer the better.
http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/12268/blackberry+vodka+cordial

• 900g fresh or frozen blackberries (2 lbs)
• 450g (2 cups) sugar (1 lb.)
• 375ml bottle vodka
• Chilled soda water, to serve

• Place the blackberries, sugar and vodka into a large clean glass jar. Seal and invert to combine. Set aside in a cool place, turning occasionally, for 24 hours or until the sugar dissolves.

• Pour the blackberry mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl or jug. Use the back of a spoon to press firmly to extract the liquid. Discard the pulp. Transfer the blackberry cordial to a clean bottle or jar and place in the fridge until serving. serve the blackberry vodka cordial with chilled soda water

http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4777290_making-blackberry-cordial.html  This one says you may use brandy instead of vodka....

• Raspberry Swirl  Frappe

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/27301/raspberry+swirl+frappe

• 2 cups frozen raspberries
• 1 1/4 cups apple juice
• 1/2 cup plain Greek-style yoghurt

1. Blend raspberries and apple juice together until smooth. Place 1/4 cup yoghurt in the bottom of each of 2 large chilled glasses. Top with raspberry mixture. Using a spoon, swirl yoghurt through raspberry mixture. Serve.

Call me if you make that one, I'll be right over!!


 Other ideas  for cool, refreshing summer drinks

Use  berry-flavored teabags to brew a tea to which  you add ice, sugar, and some fresh berries.  Maybe even rim pretty glasses with sugar, (a la Margarita) before you serve. 

Make a fruit drink, freeze, and use as slushies instead of store bought popsicles or slushies.  You could customize with different flavors of Kool-Aid. 

I'm sure some of you could add some frappes or smoothies, or whatever. If you have a great idea for one, add it on.  I'm not experienced with smoothies, but I probably should be. 
Does anyone make them with just ice, no ice cream?  or with yogurt? 

Back to gardening....
We have not had a decent rain in weeks.  The grass is crunchy.  The church yard, which my son mows, looks shaggy, but I'm afraid to mow, in case it gets really dried up.  Maybe a run around the edges with the blades on high to knock down the weeds.  My own yard is just covered in clover, which is nice,  the white flowers take away from the fact that the grass is yellowing.

Remember, water deeply, less frequently. 

Dianne, waiting on rain...

You might be a ....

A Grass to Gardens Fan if you are muttering "Die Grass Die" to the grass you are trying to hoe and handtill from your front lawn.

So I won third place in the Holland Bulb recipe contest:
http://www.bulbblog.com/3rd-place-winning-recipes/


I won 25 buckaroos, which are now coming in the form of White Clematis, a Francoise Ortegat Peony, and Columbines to join the creeping thyme and Pilgrim Cranberry creepers for the front lawn.

A Scavenge Gardener if your husband sauteed Dandelion greens, you hunt for fiddleheads and have stared down at weeds while walking hand-in-hand with your hubby, looking for purslane in the past year.

Make the recipe at the previous link and here, from Food and Wine Magazine.


The ultimate recycler/Portandia Fan, if your husband jokes,
"I see you pickled the {torn} mat to the dismantled trampoline" because your are using it around a tree to choke out the poison ivy.


In the clip below, they pickled the unsold Farmer's Market cukes.
Here's what I've been pickling:

1. The stems to broccoli.
 See this Wegman's link for some great Japanese pickling recipes.
2. Five-year aged Garlic Heads with peppercorns, balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar and sugar.



Check out the humor of pickling all veggies and food, as well as CD cases. Warning about the ending!

TICK on me!!!!!--Dianne

This is a tick, it is NOT your friend.

This is a tick burrowing into someone's skin.  Also, not your friend.

This is how big they actually are.

Wow!  took a shower, and was drying off, and felt something under my hand, looked in the mirror, and it was a brown thingie.  looked down, and it was a tick!!!  I may have to have Bill look me over like an orangutan before bed to see if I have any in my hair.   Be careful out there, people!

So, what's going on in the garden today?  LOTS and LOTS of seeds that survived our mild winter are now sprouting into young tree seedlings.  After some rain tomorrow night, I'm going to have to go out and start pulling them up, or I may have to rename my garden "The Haphazard Arboretum!"

Also, I talked about this last year, and it seems to be working for me.  I went out with a bag to the garden to pick all the dandelions I could find.  I don't like to spray if I don't have to, and this is a great way to get in all those squats I don't want to do for exercise class.  I don't have nearly as many as I had when we first moved here.  It takes a while to get down your numbers, but at least they aren't taking  over the garden.

My strawberries are blooming now, and should be fertilized tomorrow, before it rains. This is about 2 weeks early, just like everything else around here.  I hope you are all enjoying the beauty of the flowering trees through the fog of allergy eyes.  I nearly scratched mine out this evening. 

Maria said that one of her sisters was asking for recipes.  Today I ate some fabulous tabouli at a Mediterranean restaurant in Indy, Khouri's , over by Glendale Mall.  $7 lunch buffet.  yum. 

Tabouli---
couscous, cooked and cooled
finely chopped tomatoes
parsley , chopped
mint, chopped
olive oil
salt , pepper
chill when mixed

It is a light, refreshing salad.   I could see adding chopped cukes. Or, really, any crispy raw veg that you like.  The mint adds a zing that makes it perfect for a hot summer's day. It would be great as a side with a pita sandwich in place of chips.  Add some honey-drenched Middle-eastern dessert, and you are very happy. 
I also ate baba-ganoush, which is made with eggplant, something else I need to get into the garden this year.
I have tomatoes in pots,   brocs and cabbages in a newly turned garden.  It is a spot that I heavily composted and grew potatoes in last year, I can't believe the difference in the "friability" of the soil,  it practically runs through my fingers, as opposed to the clay from the foundation digging that was originally there.    Keep composting, it works!!

Seems like with a warmer winter, the garden jobs are just piling up.  Remember to keep the pain reliever handy, and drink water frequently.  Oh, and occasionally, a cold "liquid bread"  (beer) helps to make me not feel the aches and pains.  And maybe a Tom Selleck movie. 

Dianne, dirt and all

Rosemary-Chevre Soup: Another Recipe

The basil is overflowing, the heirloom tomatoes just beginning to turn out all over. Tomorrow, I plan to serve some "Greek" dishes to friends. I tried this variant idea on Lemon Rice Soup for my family.

1/2 C canned white beans such as butter beans or cannellini
1/2 C. quinoa
2 garlic cloves, minced or 2T garlic juice
2T Extra virgin, unfiltered olive oil
3-4 oz herbed chevre
2T dried rosemary or 1/4c fresh and snipped rosemary
1c whole wheat shells
2 cubes of vegetarian boullion +8 cups water
or 8 cups vegetable stock
1 T lemon extract or the juice of two lemons

Saute quinoa and garlic in olive oil (add garlic juice after quinoa has turned light brown).
Stir in water, bouillon, or stock, shells and lemon juice or extract, and beans.  Bring to light boil until pasta is al dente. Turn off the heat and stir in chevre until melted through.

Enjoy with sides of crusty bread, kalamata olives, Fatoush, melon or watermelon feta salad and falafel with minted greek yogurt.

PS-

My melon recipe is a variation on this one, but I use 1/4 c dry red wine and 1/4 kalamata brine with the balsamic. I skip the olive oil and change out red onions. I prefer shallots.

What You Can Do With Homebrew, and Organic Eggs and Goat Cheese

After your husband or friends come to brew that yummy home crafted beer, compost that leftover grain. Let the beer set and if it's a decent porter, make up these two recipes!

Presvytera's Porter Gelati

12oz mild soft chevre
24oz Porter Beer
1 C cane sugar
1 C organic cocoa
2T Vanilla Extract
1/2 strong coffee, cold
2 rennet tablets or 1t xantham gum

Over medium heat, dissolve cane sugar in 8oz of beer. crush rennet tablets (If using xanthan gum, blend into the cheese before add dissolve into heated beer mixture.
Meanwhile, blend or food process cocoa, (xantham gum, if using in place of rennet), chevre, and coffee and vanilla in that order. Slowly blend in the remaining 12 oz of beer. Finally add the sweetened beer.
Pour your mix into a ice cream freezer or a cold bowl. If hand stirring, stir frequently and often.

 The other recipe is not mine, but received excellent reviews. I did tipple a bit o' scotch and a tablespoon of butter into the caramel sauce.

Beer Bread Pudding