We continue to get a bountiful harvest from Farmer Leigh (not me). We leave again for vacation on Friday (I know, you probably hate me for my tough life), but we’re trying to process all the food we have before we leave. I’ve ventured into pickle making. Part of the trouble is that it’s so hot, we don’t really want to eat cooked food. So I have to find a way to use veggies that we’ll only eat about half of at the moment.
Pickles: Seamus helped me make pickles–8 pint jars so far. He was interested in stirring in the salt and mixing the right proportion of vinegar and water. He also kept very good track of the time we put them in the refrigerator so as know when 48 hours had elapsed and we could try them. I thanked him for being a big help, and said, “I like doing projects with you.” While we were working in the kitchen, Porter and Harlan were sleeping, and Gilbert and Patrick were outside working on the Vespa. Seamus said, “Dada likes working on projects with Gilbert.” It’s true, but he also likes working with Seamus, but Seamus is so often uninterested in the outdoor, mechanical project. I was surprised he would help with the pickles, but he was more interested when I deputized him to mixing and stirring all on his own. They tasted the pickles today and Gilbert loved them. Seamus liked it because he made it, but he wanted to rinse the dill off.
Zucchini Bread–Boring and self-explanatory. We have a boatload of summer squash. I’ve made 8 loaves of zucchini bread, a pasta bake for the freezer, a roasted veggie lasagne, and a squash/quiche bake, and I still have three in the fridge…
Tomatillos–Patrick and I have made two separate batches of salsa verde. He grilled his and I roasted mine, so we’ll see how they stack up.
Basil–We’ve eaten and frozen a ton of pesto.
Tomatoes–Hmmm…well, we never seem to have too many of these. Caprese, salsa, marinara, sandwiches, salads, we just eat them. Now if the darn squirrels would quit eating mine in the garden! Porter is a tomato boy. He had a serving of cherry tomatoes for lunch, and that was about it.
Ground Cherries–I thought we might get enough of these to freeze or something, but Seamus and Gilbert eat them right off the plants as fast as they will ripen!
Plants–Our CSA gives us two plants every week. I’ve been trying to get them in the ground, but it’s difficult when I’m totally out of space! Patrick and S & G got me a new planter and soil to plant them in today, so now I have sage, parsley, and stevia in the planter. I’m looking forward to the sage with butternut squash!
And there’s more. Before we leave on Friday, we have to figure out the green cabbage, the sorrel, the kohlrabi, the last three squash, and about 35 potatoes. But I guess it’s a good problem to have.
Academic Leigh Speaking 